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Contents Introduction: I. Why do We Age A. Theories of Aging II. What is Longevity A. Life Span and Life Expectancy III.
What determines Longevity III. Why Don? t Most Americans Live Past the Average Life Expectancy IV. Leading Causes Of Death (table) V. What Do We Do to Live Longer Conclusion: Introduction What is the fear of most humans? The fear is aging and death.
In this paper you will find out a lot about aging. You will learn what longevity is, what determines it, the average length of life and how you can exceed it. You will find it amazing that doing simple things every day will help you to feel better an live longer. Why Do We Age?
From the time we are born we start to die. This is life. No one knows how long they are going to live, but we can try to do all that we can to live longer. Aging is not controlled by any one. Aging is a genetic process.
We get so old until our bodies breakdown. What causes the breakdown, the decline of energy, The inability of the body to function. There is nothing to fully explain why we age, but their are some theories the will help explain what happens. Theories of Aging The Genetic Theory states that cells contain? aging? genes that tells the exact number of times the cell can duplicate itself, for humans that about 110 to 120 years.
Another theory suggest the cells DNA somehow becomes defective after a certain point and synthesizes defective protein. The defect disables normal cell functioning, causing the cell to deteriorate- fall apart. The Immune System Malfunctions is a theory of aging involving the immune system. It says that the body begin to miscalculate in synthesizing proteins and make proteins that the immune system cannot recognize. The immune system then would attack them as it would any foreign substance, destroying the cells and impairing the body functions. Some other Theories are much more complicated.
the programmed theories are: Programmed Senescence. Aging is the result of the sequential switching on and off of certain genes, with senescence being defined as time when age- associated deficits are manifested. En doctrine Theory. Biological clocks act through hormones to control the pace of aging. Immunological Theory. A programmed decline in immune system functions leads to an increased disadvantage to infectious disease and as a result is aging and death.
Error Theories include: Wear and Tear. Cells and tissue have vital part that wear out. Rate of Living. The greater an organism? s rate of oxygen basic metabolism, the shorter the life span. Cross linking.
An accumulation of crossed linked proteins damage cells and tissues, slowing down bodily process. Free Radicals. Accumulated damage caused by oxygen radicals causes cells and eventually organs to stop functioning. Error Catastrophe. Damage to mechanisms that synthesize proteins results in faulty protein which accumulate to a level that causes catastrophic damage to cells and organs. Somatic Mutation.
Genetic occur and accumulate with increasing age, causing cells to fall apart and stop working. Having read the list of theories you could gain an underrating of what happens through the different processes. Like Dr. Hayfick say, ?
Instead of asking why do we age? we should be asking why do we live as long as we do. ? What is Longevity? Longevity is a term, taken from infoplease encyclopedia, denoting the length or duration of the life of an animal or plant, often used to indicate an unusually long life.
Life Span and Life Expectancy How long can we live? Gerontologists always mentions two kinds of life spans, Maximum Life Span and Average Life Span. Most scientist declare that our maximum life span is 120 years. The average life span of a human is the average age that is reached by members of the population. Life Expectancy is the number of years a person or individual can expect to live, this is based upon average life spans. Average life span and life expectancy has grown dramatically in this century.
In 1900 the average life span was 47 years now 1990 it increased to 75 years. This advancement is mainly because of medical improvements and sanitation improvements. On the other hand maximum human life span seem to be a problem. There is no evidence that this has changed for thousands of years despite the fabled fountains of youth and biblical tales of people living to be 500 years.
Life expectancy has moved from legend to laboratory. Gerontologist explore the genes, cells, and organs evolving aging. they are tring to uncover more secrets of longevity. What Determines Longevity? There are certain factors that determine how long we can live. Sometimes these factors can have a fairly large impact on us.
The first is genectic's. We cannot change the genetic hand we are dealing life. Some of us are inherently predisposed to various degenerative diseases and cancers. Others are given a very long life span, if they don? t mess it up.
Those with a bad genetic background can change their outcome through appropriate vigilance and behaviors. ? Collated Date? should be avoided. Meaning if you have lung cancer, refrain from smoking. The second would have to do with oxidation damage. The chemical process of oxidation is involved in many of the changes of aging, including heart disease, the promotions of many cancers, and Alzhimer?
s disease. Oxidation is increased with exposure to the sun, radiation (including x-rays, ultra violent light, and cosmic radiation) and various chemicals. The process is slowed down by the body? s anti-oxidant system which relies on a number of different vitamins, minerals, and other compounds found in foods.
The third is Team. Physical and chemical damage can shorten our life span, by a little bit at a time or in whole chunks. Physical team includes sun damage and that caused by improper exercise or being overweight. Chemical team can be from pollution with tobacco or excess alcohol, many physical and chemical trama's are those we put upon ourselves. Last but not least our emotional status plays an important role.
People who are happy tend to live longer. Studies have shown that happy people have less heart disease and fewer cancers. happily married people live longer than single people. Do what you can to make your self happy. Develop hobbies, make new friends, get a dog. Why Don?
t Most Humans Live Past the Average Life Expectancy? Why do you think people don? t live to become 100 or 120? Most people don?
t live that long because of what they do. Most people don? t get to see age 75. It? s what you do and don? t do that makes you live longer.
most people say that happy people live longer. Is this true? Think about it, what are happy people doing? They are mostly smiling and they are occupied doing something. Some causes of death before life expectancy are stress, anxiety, heart attacks, cancer, physical injuries, and physical and substance abuse. All of these I mentioned are bad health Conditions.
Stress is bad on the body especially for older people. Stress can trigger heart attacks and strokes. All kinds of cancer can be developed in different ways and can harm you just as bad as anything else would. To much sunlight and radiation is bad for the skin. Smoking hurt the body physical and mentally.
Elderly people should abstain from strenuous activities or work that includes heavy lifting and excessive pain. The reason for this being is that elderly people take longer to heal when injured. Sometime physical injuries could lead to death. To be on the safe side you should avoid the leading causes of death.
Heart disease, cancers, tobacco, strokes, and other cerebrovascular diseases, alcohol, Alzhimer? s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes. Some of these diseases we have no control over. Some humans are born with these diseases.
Just don? t put yourself in an early grave, help your self fight these diseases and live a long prosperous life. What Do We Do to Live Longer? For the minute we all been waiting for, what do we do to live longer?
To live longer or to prolong our life span we should balance our activities with the proper amount of rest. Exercising on a daily basis may actually add years to your life span. For elderly people, exercising may increase your muscular strenght and speed. Exercising reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes. It lowers the risk of cancer.
It lowers the risk of cancer. It builds bone density, so fractures would not easily happen. when exercising you can maintain a normal body weight. It also reduces the risk of infections by increasing the circulation of the immune cells. Exercising also increases memory. Happiness is one of the best things for your mental and physical state.
People are attracted to someone who has a sense of humor. You also get a workout while laughing. You know when you laugh until you stomach hurts, you are working your abdominal muscles. If possible try to stay happy. Maintain a proper diet. This does not mean no salt, a little piece of meat and a lot of vegetables.
This means don? t eat a lot of one thing but a little of everything. Limit yourself to how much you are eating. Remember, try to maintain a normal body weight. Bibliography A book with one author Josephson, M. (1959). Edison: a biography.
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Developmental Psychology, 20, pp. 244 - 60. A signed article in a monthly magazine Beardsley, T. (1994). For whom the bell curve really tolls. Scientific American, January 1995, Volume 272, Number 1, pp. 14 - 17. A signed article in a daily newspaper Moore, M. (1994, December 27). Speculation irks Flores.
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