Adult and Ageing (Research Paper Sample)

Adulthood and Ageing
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Abstract
Life expectancy of the U.S stands at 80 years which may vary based on various factors such as socioeconomic status of people. Region and accessibility to healthcare services are also contributing factors to the life expectancy age difference. Physical exercise has been known to improve and enhance our health generally. However, what people have not realized is that physical exercise is also good for our brain especially the aged people above 65 years. Research has shown that a healthy human being is that who engages in activities and not only sit there and wait for things to be done or engage in activities which involves sitting. The research proposal is designed to address the effect of regular exercise to the agedpeople aged over 65 years. This research proposal will focus on the memory working condition for the aged people. Decline in cognitive activities in the aged individuals are mainly associated with three major factors as the root cause of the problem. First, the processing speed of the brain slows down due to the degradation of the myelin. Second factor related with the problem is the impairment of the abilities to inhibit distractions. When the working memory is minimized is another major factor causing the brain impairment in the aged population. The research proposal will focus on the study of 150 adults aged 65-95. The individuals will be engaged in cognitive tests which include; working memory test and vocabulary test.
Literature Review
Research shows that exercise assists people to enhance their brain functioning (Cotman et al, 2007). In addition, those who engage in physical exercises are highly to have sharp brain functioning unlike their counterparts without exercise. Due to the difference in the cellular and the biochemical levels in the body lead to the different ways of responding to issues and memory response (Cotman et al, 2007). The difference in the two major brain components is what leads to difference in memory work. Research is still on to improve the cognitive functioning of the brain in aged people (Pollack et al, 2003). Aging is mostly associated with the slow response of the brain. As people grow old, they tend to forget something. For example, one may misplace something because he/she has forgotten where he/she placed it. According to Pollack et al (2003) this act of forgetting results in slow functioning of the brain which makes it more difficult for the individual to multitask. For long time, the major complaint from the aged people is the issue of memory loss or being forgetful. However, scientists have claims that this is not the first brain impairment on the aged people. Memory loss or slow memory response has been majorly associated with the dementia which not only affects the aged people but also the young people. Aged people mostly suffer from heart failure caused by stiffening of the blood vessels which results in the blood pressure development (Schulz & Salthouse, 1999). As a result, the blood becomes thicker and sticker and becomes harder to be pumped in the body. This problem may also lead to another complication in the body, for instance; red blood cells begin to decline as a result of difficulty in blood pumping (Hillman et al, 2008). Most people gain much weight in the middle and late ages. However, this might be mistaken by someone that he/she is healthy. But the reason behind the weight gain results in another complication (Neck & Cooper, 2000). As one gains more weight at the age of 50 or 60 and above, it is not healthy in that case but rather it exposes that person to high risks to heart failure. The more a person gains weight, he/she loses muscles. This means that the extra weight gained in the process is not actually weight but fats which might be very dangerous when they block the blood vessels (Cotman et al, 2007). This research explains the reason as to why most people nowadays suffer from hypertension and diabetes is because they don’t exercise (Schulz & Salthouse, 1999). It is due to the cholesterol increase in the body which raises the blood sugar level in the body. Reduction in body muscles results in reduction in body musculature by around 50%. People with that problem normally become weak and may develop various disabilities (Berchtold et al, 2005). This problem is mostly experienced in male who get exposed to the reduction of musculature. Some of the disabilities associated with the problem include; bone fractures, thinness of the bones, the muscles and ligaments becomes stiff and stiff. The extra fat in the body results to rise in the LDL cholesterol and reduces the level of HDL cholesterol which is dangerous to the body. Loss of muscles also slows down the nervous system’s work (Hillman et al, 2008). Coordination becomes a challenge, reflex activities are slowed down and the person may suffer memory lapse. Research has shown that people who only sit or spend their time mostly in bed are necessarily to suffer from memory lapse. Exercise increases the heart beat rate and as a result increases blood pumping rate. People who undergo exercise are very difficult to experience weight increment (Neck & Cooper, 2000). Research further shows that people who engage in physical exercise have stable heart beat rate. Engaging in exercise is encouraged to the aged people to enhance their body and mind fitness. Tai chi is one of the sports known to increase mind fitness. Research shows that engaging in sporting activities improves the cognitive activities in the brain and as a result increases brain size of an individual (Churchill et al, 2002). Research shows that aged people who still engage in sporting activities respond to issues faster than their counterparts who spend most of their time bed sitting. Those who like bed sitting are exposed to high fat development in the body which results to reduction in muscle strength. Some of the exercise recommended by specialist to improve the health status of the aged people include; walking, biking, jogging, dance and even golf as long as it involves walking and not standing at a constant position (Leitner & Leitner, 2004). With the technological advancement, scientists have developed machines which can assist the exercise process, but they need someone to be properly keen. Gym is a good example of this scenario which has provided good opportunity to the aged to enjoy their life for long, (Leitner & Leitner, 2004). In the gym one can find some light weights which are perfect with the body and age. Carrying these light weights frequently will improve muscle development and increases its strength. Resistant exercise will enhance the preservation of the bone calcium. Exercise takes several dimensions but what is important is that one is fit and healthy (Neck & Cooper, 2000). Flexibility training is another exercise which assists in keeping the body fit and sharp. If someone cannot be able to engage in all the above exercise ways, then even stretching is perfect to keep the body on its shape (Kramer et al, 2006). People claim to be so busy and they cannot get time to engage in the exercise. Taking 20 minutes a day to stretch does not prevent someone from fulfilling his/her duties. Stretching is something that does not require help from a specialist and someone can just do it by him/herself. Exercise for balance is another exercise dimension which also helps to reduce some forms of aging (Kramer et al, 2006). Specialist claims that even taking a walk for 30 minutes in a day will help in keeping the person in fit condition. Women engage in several physical activities which do not involve standing or staying at a constant place. This might explain why women tend to live longer than men. Research shows that women lives longer than men by approximately 5 years. Aging is also associated with the neurodegenerative ailments such as cognitive impairment, cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer and Parkinson (Kidd, 2008). Various factors are argued to be associated with the brain aging. For instance, changes in the brain size are normally caused by molecular changes in the brain. Brain plasticity is also affected by the molecular changes in the brain (Berchtagedet al, 2005). The brain plays major roles in the decision-making process. For example, the brain decides on what is to be kept in the brain or what is to be discarded. The brain functions well when it is kept in use. That information which the brain does not use is discarded.
When brain functions regularly and effectively it enhances the brain size (Cotman et al, 2007). When the brain becomes dormant, the brain size reduces and this leads to memory lapse. The hypothesis of this research is that frequent engagement in exercise enhances brain function and memory functions. On top of engaging in exercise activities, the socioeconomic status and region people live in also affect their brain function in terms of attention (Neck & Cooper, 2000). The region in which a person stays highly influences their brain functioning abilities. For instance, research shows that people who stay in the urban areas are more active than those in the rural region. Those in the urban are said to be more focused and their concentration is still high due to the better lifestyles in the urban areas (Kidd, 2000). Aged people who live in urban areas are less distracted unlike their fellow in the rural areas. It is said that people in the urban areas are more engaged with various activities and this is what makes them more focused. Fatigue which is developed as a result of worry and stress is also another factor that causes brain impairment. Aged people are advised not to involve in stressing issues which may lead to the development of fatigue in their brain. Engaging in mind exercises such as video games is encouraged for improvement of better and fit mind (Leit...