Perceptions of Aging...
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| Perceptions of Age << |
| Myths of Aging |
| Age and Ability |
| The Aging Process |
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Aging is a continuous, complex, and dynamic process that begins with birth and ends with death. And unless we die in our early years, we will grow old and experience the effects of the aging process.
> What
is aging?
Leonard Hayflick, one of our great gerontologists, contends that "Aging defies easy definition. Aging is not mearly the passage of time. It is the manifestation of biological events that occur over a span of time. There is no perfect definition of aging but, as with love and beauty, most of us know it when we experience it or see it." *
The commonly understood meaning of age, aging or becoming old is showing the effects or characteristics of increasing age. But biological age does not correlate with chronological age. And, while most of us recognize advanced age when we see it, appearances alone do not determine how old we really are.
In fact, there is no reliable measurement fo determining our biological age. Time itself produces no biological effects. Events occur in time but not because of its passage.
> Aging is
an
Individual
and Complex
Experience.
The aging process is a complex series of post-maturational changes that are only beginning to be understood. We have difficulties understanding these changes because:
- each person ages differently and at his/her own pace
- different body systems within the same individual age at varying rates
- it's difficult to distinguishing between "normal" changes and those which are pathological
It's important to remember that the aging process begins with birth and ends with death. Thus, human aging is:
- universal—everyone ages
- inevitable—we cannot stop the process
- irreversible—we will never be younger than we are today
>
Aging
Means Change
Our bodily systems undergo a change throughout the aging process. But because genetics and environment impact on each individual differently, these changes are quite selective.
Thus, the elder population is an extremely diverse group with wide differences that defy characterization. And while each individual follows a similar aging path, it is a very wide path. Each of us arrives at a particular point, at a different chronological age, and with a different degree of functional change.
Even our bodily systems age at varying rates. At any particular age, no two of us experience the same physical or sensory changes. Thus, an "old" person could have "aged" lungs and a "young" heart, while a "young" person might have "young" lungs and an "old" heart.
Most young people view old age from youth's narrow prism, directed by instincts based on a sense of misguided empathy. They assume incorrectly that thay know what a person of their age or physical condition is experiencing based on their imagination. This is known as The Psychologist's Fallacy.
Young People's View of Aging
Most young people believe that functional capacity climbs rapidly and steadily from birth until we reach our peak at age 25-30.
From then on, functional capacity declines, they eventually become old, and die.
Old People's View of Aging
Most old people hold an equally erroneous view of aging.
They believe that functional capacity climbs slowly and steadily from birth until they finally reach their peak at age 65.
At that time functional capacity declines, they become old, retire, and die.
The Four-Phase View of Aging
Phase 1. A period of measured growth, rapid skill development, socialization, and structured learning.
Phase 2. A period of adult productivity, responsibility, and accomplishment, characterized by freedom of choice, independence, and self-sufficiency.
Phase 3. A period of functional decline with a corresponding loss in our ability to perform our activities of daily living.
Phase 4. As our vital functions decline rapidly, our activity level drops, our bodily systems begin to atrophy, and our biological processes continue to deteriorate until death occurs.
The Critical Support Point
As we age, we depend more and more on our products and environments to compensate for our progressive functional decline.
Such assistance extends the critical support point (CSP) and enables us to remain independent longer and continue to perform our normal activities of daily living.
Transgenerational design extends this critical support point, prolonging independence and reducing our need for external assistance.
We can help you design transgenerational products and environments that are useable by the young, the old, the able, the disabled—without penalty to any group.
*Hayflick, Leonard. "How and Why We Age." New York: Random House, 1994.
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