Aging in America: Part II-Changes to Health
The Baby Boomers are beginning to turn 60 in the year 2006. There are many people confronting the physical issues of aging. A listing of the most common side-effects that can increase with aging is useful but a list of these issues and what you consider doing to minimize them is better.
After we pass from our youth, young adult phase, and into mid-life, say 35-45 years of age, we can begin to notice that our bodies are changing. We are no long as flexible and resilient as we were as young adults. Maybe our waist lines are growing as our digestion and metabolism begin to change. (Perhaps we can not handle the caloric intake that we prided our selves on as young adults.) Many of begin to have changes in vision that may require glasses or contact lenses or eye surgery. We need to learn to play sports differently because our muscles and joints do not heal from the abuse as easily as when we were younger. For many men, their foreheads start getting bigger. Our skin tone may change. Even our libidos can start to change, sometimes up and sometimes down It is not uncommon to find medical changes beginning such as: blood pressures get higher, blood cholesterol levels can raise, blood sugars may increase, increased insomnia, peripheral blood flow may be reduced, and even hormonal changes can begin to occur.
Medical intervention may be suggested for the chronic conditions that can lead to more severe health concerns. Treating blood pressure, higher cholesterol, and early stages of diabetes may be suggested because the long term effects may be life threatening. The secondary side-effects from these medications can also play a role in physical and mental health. We need to start living better and smarter. We need to exercise (3-5x per week for more than 30 minutes), eat better (less calories/junk food and more vegetables, fruits and whole grains), and we need to learn to control our habitual response to stress (which can start to catch up with us.)
Stress management and biofeedback can be helpful, non-medicinal, approaches to take control of certain symptoms. You can learn to reduce, perhaps control, your blood pressure, heart rate, and peripheral blood flow. These tools may even assist you with digestive challenges like: ulcers, or pre-ulcerous conditions, gastritis, colitis, constipation or diarrhea. Managing stress can also lessen chronic pain and improve sleeping. I have even heard of stress management and biofeedback techniques that can help reduce anxiety and the issues that add to substance abuse such as alcoholism, smoking control, drug and medication addiction, and even, over eating.
As we get older it is important that we take the extra time required for self-care. Consider the long term negative results that may have an impact on our quality of life and health. Please, also consider that spending this extra time and energy can also provide us with some surprising benefits. The time for self-care may actually be balanced by the fact that the practice of stress management can actually save you time in the long run. You will require less sleep and be better able to concentrate, perhaps even making fewer avoidable mistakes. You can also do better in testing situations and may find greater creativity. You will be better able to communicate more effectively, and this will save you time and possible frustrations. You will also provide a role model for the next generation of co-workers, family, friends, even your children, who will all need to learn more about self-care in an increasingly stress filled world.
Living longer can be a great joy or possibly a curse. Living longer with chronic health challenges is not an ideal way to live. Taking steps to reduce, or possibly eliminate, the impacts of aging will definitely enhance your quality of life and offer the sense of control that many people require for greater happiness.
Please take good care of yourself.
I am writing this series of articles to keep my work in the front of the trend of the baby boomers aging. I have been working in my field since 1978 and realize that an emphasis on the health, well-being, quality of life, and even the prosperity of this generation has both a professional and personal interest for me. My second book, Stress Passages: Surviving Lifes Transitions Gracefully, had major influence in serving the population of people struggling with the transition of aging. Well, now it is no longer ahead of its time. The time is now!
L. John Mason, Ph.D. is the author of the best selling "Guide to Stress Reduction." Since 1977, he has offered Executive Coaching and Training.
Please visit the Stress Education Center's website at http://www.dstress.com for articles, free ezine signup, and learn about the products that are available. If you would like information or a targeted proposal for training or coaching, please contact us at (707) 795-2228.
If you are looking to promote your training or coaching career, please investigate the Professional Stress Management Training and Certification Program for a secondary source of income or as career path.
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