Sociologic Changes

With age, sociologic changes occur between aging individuals and family and friends due to the loss of peers and contemporaries -- a spouse, siblings, other relatives, old friends and neighbors. This can lead to isolation unless a concerted effort is made to stay socially active. Getting out and being involved presents opportunities to meet new people. New friends may never replace the lost closeness shared with someone who knew you before your hair turned grey, or before your first child was born. But the support network that comes with sharing life with peers can counter loneliness and goes a long way toward dispelling feelings of isolation. The more people you interact with daily, the more chance there is to form new bonds. The more people there will be to bond, with in years to come.

Being involved and busy, focuses on the present and future.

If we lose close contemporaries we have less opportunity to touch others. As babies thrive when cuddled and touched, so do adults. Opportunities to hug and be hugged diminish with losses. It's important to create new ones. A handshake, or pat on the back helps. Go out of your way to practice these, making it okay for others to touch you. Grandchildren can provide opportunities for physical closeness. If you don't see them often create opportunities through surrogate grand parenting.

Physical Changes of Aging

Physical changes of aging are the easiest to recognize. Diseases that effect the elderly are not the same thing as changes which occur as part of the aging process.

• Vision
• Hearing
• Temperature Sensitivity
• Touch
• Taste

Want to better understand some of the changes that accompany aging?

• Look through a pair of glasses sprayed with hairspray.
• Put un-popped popcorn kernels in your shoes.
• Wear a blindfold and a nose-clip and try to tell the difference between a barbecue potato chip and a plain one.
• Turn the pages of a book wearing cloth gardening gloves.
• Look through the wrong end of binoculars and try to follow a right turn line on the ground.

Metabolic Slowdown with Age

The slowdown and changes in metabolism that occur with age can result in more than needing to eat less and exercise more to keep the pounds from piling on.

As we age we may process drugs more slowly, or become more prone to drug reactions and interactions, than the younger population.

Add to this the fact that many of the elderly are seen by a variety of specialists, each who prescribe drugs that treat their field of expertise. But some of these drugs interact with other drugs. Each physician, or one physician needs to accept responsibility for reviewing the regime of drugs taken, and reviewing it against possible drug ­drug interactions.

Drug­Drug, Drug­Food and Drug­Laboratory Test Interactions information is available at www.gerrygraf.com

Physiological Changes in Sedentary Adults