The number of years that an individual born in a particular year can expect to live, starting at any given age.

Factors that slow biological aging:

nurition, medical treatment, sanitation, safety, SES, ethnicity, and nationality.

Number of people over 65, growing.

After age 75, some have difficulty carrying out:

-Activities of daily living (ADLs): basic self-care tasks

-Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs): tasks necessary to conduct the business of daily life also requiring some cognitive competence.

Maximum Lifespan: some think 80-90, other think limits not yet defined.

Physical Decline: The Senses

Vision

structural changes, deterioration, discoloration.

• Cataracts (cloudy areas in the lens).  Artificial replacement possible.
• Macular Degeneration (light sensitive cells in retina break down).  Can be treated with laser therapy if diagnosed early.
• Atherosclerosis (constricts blood flow). Protective factors - active lifestyle, diet rich in green, leafy vegetables (vitamin pills don't count).

Physical Decline: The Senses

Hearing

Reduced blood supply, natural cell death in inner ear/auditory cortex, stiffening of membranes cause hearing to decline.

• Greatest at high-frequencies.
• Decreased responsiveness to startling noise, ability to discriminate complex tone patterns.
• Less impact on self-care, but affects safety/enjoyment of life (esp. decline in speech perception)
• Lower self-efficacy, loneliness/depressive symptoms, smaller social network
• hearing aids, use of vision, quiet environments.

Physical Decline: The Senses

Taste and Smell

Reduced sensitivity, difficulty recognizing familiar foods by taste alone.

• No change in number/distribution of taste buds
• Cigarette smoking, dentures, medications, environmental pollutants can affect taste perception
• Food less enjoyable.
• Smell as self-protective function (rancid food, gas fumes, smoke)
• Decrease in smell receptors = declines in odor sensitivity.
• Practicing odor discrimination may help. 

Physical Decline: The Senses

Touch

decline in touch perception

• loss of touch receptors, slowing of blood circulation to extremeties.

Erikson

Psychosocial Development

Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair

Coming to terms with one's adult life.  Seeing it filled with pleasure and satisfaction or disappointments and failures.

Positive Outcome: Achieved sense of fulfillment about life and a sense of unity within himself and with other, he will accept death with a sense of integrity.  Healthy adult will not fear death.

Negative Outcome: If not, individual will despair and fear death.

Peck

Psychosocial Development

Tasks of Ego Integrity

• Ego Differentiation: for those who have invested in careers, finding other ways to affirm self-worth--through family, friendship, community life.
• Body Transcendence: Surmounting physical limitations by emphasizing the compensating rewards of cognitive, emotional and social powers.
• Ego Transcendence: As contemporaries die, facing the reality of death constructively through efforts to make life more secure, meaningful and gratifying for younger generations.
• Those who have moved "beyond the fear of death" have a greater appreciation of life.

Calling up past experiences with the goal of achieving greater self-understanding

• part of attaining integrity
• increased levels of self-esteem, greater sense of purpose in life, and reduced depression
• not essential for adapting well to late adulthood.
• other-focused reminiscence/knowledge-based reminiscence.
• common during times of transition