Success and Healthy Aging

Aging Is Actually a Very Complex Process

Many people age in a manner that seems to be healthy while others go through one disease and disability after another as they age. Healthy aging is all about finding ways to remain vital and free from disease and disability as you get older. Most of us would prefer to just not wake up one morning, rather than dying from a prolonged, painful disease process.

We know that a lot of the aging process can be slowed simply by staying active throughout life. You may not be able to prevent wrinkles, but you can keep some tone in your body. What we do know for sure is that the life expectancy of someone who is active is much greater than that of someone who sits on a couch watching television.

You may be surprised to learn that while the population as a whole is getting older, people are entering nursing homes much later in life. People in their 60s are having a lot less incapacitating disease conditions. People in their 70s are suffering from a lot less disabilities. People in their 80s are becoming much more common. Medical science has been able to do a lot to prolong and improve later life. While most medical experts believe 125 is a cap on the aging process, a large portion of people are living into their 90s. It isn't even uncommon to live past 100 nowadays.

The aging process is very complex. While we know that the major contributing factors to longer lifespans have been the quality of medical care and a person's activity levels, diet, and moods, we don't know why some people with the same basic circumstances live so much longer than others. We know that heredity has many roles to play in what diseases we are susceptible to, but not how exactly the process works.

Many diseases are very complex. Diabetes is an increasing problem in our society. Blood sugar can get out of control and the body increasingly loses its ability to properly use sugars in the blood. We know that exercise decreases the chances of getting adult onset diabetes. We also know that eating the right foods makes its onset very unlikely. But we don't know why some people can abuse their bodies and not get it and others abuse their bodies and get it before they are even adults, other than to just use a blanket term like hereditary to describe it.

Many people associate aging with senior moments. Some people decline so far as to have dementia. Some get a progressive brain disease such as Alzheimer's disease. But there are many people over 100 right now who have remained quite sharp mentally. What complex aging processes make the difference?

The changes we go through as we age may sometimes be known as senescence. Many things we attribute as just part of getting older are not actually inevitable. Some people never develop these problems, others start developing these problems in their 40s. Many things seem to work together to cause various aging symptoms, such as past illnesses and physical traumas.

Of course, we can cause the problems ourselves by intentionally damaging our bodies. Many people drink alcohol or smoke to accelerate the aging process. Others abuse other types of drugs. Overeating is known to accelerate the aging process as well. What we eat may be one of the most important factors in disease and disability. And of course, we have to use our body and mind regularly if we want to be able to keep using them as we age.

Some people may just be programmed to live longer than others, but how we live has an impact. While one person may live longer without caring for himself than another who does care for himself, we don't necessarily how long each would have lived if they had taken better care of themselves. What do know is that health living habits, even as small as brushing your teeth and visiting your dentist, on average result in a longer lifespan.