4 Reasons Aging Is Awesome
Aging is awesome
The saggy, wrinkly view of aging may have a much more positive, and real, ｃounterpart.
Getting older has its perks, lots of them, from needing less sleep. Here’s a look at why the crowded candles on your birthday cake, as you enter middle age and beyond, are just plain awesome.
1. More awake time
That’s right, more time to enjoy life. Seniors need about 1.5 hours less sleep on average than their younger ｃounterparts. In another study of 110 healthy adults who were allowed eight hours of bed time, the oldest group (ages 66 to 83) snoozed about 20 minutes less than the middle-agers (ages 40 to 55), who in turn slept about 23 minutes less than the youngest group (ages 20 to 30) Older need less sleep. Another explanation, older adults just can’t get the sleep they need, taking longer to nod off, spending less time in deep sleep, and having more trouble staying asleep. In fact, more than half of men and women over the age of 65 say they suffer from at least one sleep problem, with many experiencing insomnia.
2. Wearing rose-colored glasses
Being happy may come down to attitude. Great news for older adults whose brains seem to be wired to remember the good times. Aging adults don’t just recall blissful moments of the past in vivid colors. Being old could lend itself to optimism. Eye-tracking technology revealed the older participants, ages 18-21, focused on the fearful faces, while those ages 57 to 84 zeroed in on the happy faces, avoiding the angry ones. In a journal in Psychology and Aging, think that as a person’s life expectancy decreases, they might focus on what makes them feel good now rather than focusing on the negative.
3. Being grandparents
No diapers. No temper tantrums. No fevers and ear infections. Aging means you get to enjoy grandkids, as if they were your own, but without any of the frustrations. A study showed that kids cared for by a grandmother were 50 percent less likely to get injured than children cared for by daycare workers, other relatives, or even the child’s own mother.
4. More wisdom
Like a fine wine, older adults have been aged to perfection it seems, at least when it comes to wisdom. As you age, you may have a tougher time tuning out irrelevant information, but this lack of focus can actually boost memory. More specifically, seniors have the unique ability to “hyper-bind” the irrelevant information, essentially trying it to other information that is appearing at the same time. This type of memory could help older adults with decision-making and problem-solving.
Article Source: http://www.livescience.com/14547-positive-side-aging-health-sex-sleep.html
Image Source: http://www.livescience.com/images/i/000/003/763/original/070205_older_smile_02.jpg?interpolation=lanczos-none&downsize=553:*
VOCABULARY WORDS:
Counterpart (n) - a person or thing holding a position or performing a function that corresponds to that of another person or thing in another place.
Rose colored glasses (idiomatic) An optimistic perception of something a positive opinion’ seeing something in a positive way often thinking of it as better than it actually is.
Vivid (adj) - Producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
Tantrums (n) –An uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration, typically in a young child.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What are some of the benefits of getting older?
2. What do you think is the best age to be? Explain your opinion.
3. Should people of between 50 and 55 be forced to retire from their jobs in order to make way for younger workers?
4. Are you afraid of getting old? Why or why not?
5. Do you believe that life begins at 40? Why or why not?
