Final Thoughts

1. What is your personal definition of successful aging? How has this definition changed from the beginning of the semester.

After participating in this seminar, I now define successful aging as the ability to age in such a manner so that physical, mental, and emotional abilities are not severely impaired. To me, one has "aged successfully" if they are still able to do moderate physical activities, engage in mental activities and challenges, and maintain social relationships with family and friends upon reaching what society views as "old" age. When asked this question at the beginning of the semester, I most likely would have answered that successful aging involves being able to do physical activities as well as having a more "youthful" appearance. I would not have considered however, the emotional or mental aspects of aging.

2. What was one topic or fact that you found to be the most interesting throughout the semester?

I really enjoyed learning about the Georgia Centenarian study and especially enjoyed having Dr. Peter Martin talk to us about his role in the study and the research he has conducted about centenarians. It was very interesting to hear what he had to say about life expectancy, maximum life spans, and what the researchers had found when comparing different groups of centenarians.

3. What is one aspect of successful aging that you would like to continue learning about?

I would like to continue learning about the role that nutrition and exercise have in successful aging. These are two areas of my life that can be changed now in order to hopefully age better in the future. When we took the life expectancy calculator test this semester, I noticed that nutrition and in particular caffeine, plays a large part in your life expectancy. I was a bit surprised by this and would like to learn more about it.

4. Has any of the information that we've discussed in class changed your perspective about successful aging?

Learning that mental and emotional stimulation are key components of successful aging caused me to think more about my own life and what actions I could take in regards to those two areas. I thought it was interesting when Dr. Martin mentioned daily mental stimulation of some kind is very beneficial in the aging process. I also learned this semester that knowing how to handle and let go of stress helps one age more successfully. It is a bit hypocritical to say around finals time, but I hope to learn to handle stress better in the future in order to have a more positive aging experience.

Aging in the News

After searching "aging in the news" in Google, I came across an MSNBC article about the simple, everyday lifestyle changes that people could make in order to better prevent cancer. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41426537/ns/health-aging/) The article claims that a combination of a healthier diet, more daily exercise, and less consumption of alcohol could prevent a wide variety of common cancers. The article even lists statistics such as decreasing the cases of breast cancer by as much as 40% by making these changes. I found these facts to be extremely interesting. I realize we haven't talked a ton about cancer specifically in class but it is a common disease as people age. I was always under the impression that while cancer is influenced by daily habits and lifestyles, a person is more likely to be diagnosed with cancer as a result of genetics influences. I must say it is relieving to know I can take steps now to potentially decrease my risk of developing a life-threatening disease later in life,

Financial Aging

I found the retirement calculator to be a very interesting tool. While I do not think it is very accurate in predicting how much I should save annually, especially at this point in my life without a "real world" job and salary, it did give me a bit to think about for the future. Using the values I imputed, the calculator said I should a little over 7% of my annual income beginning when I enter the work force (approx. age 23). This value of 7% doesn't seem like a lot right now but I'm sure it will add up to quite a bit to save annually when I have a larger annual income. It is very daunting to think about saving for retirement while I am not even finished with my undergraduate education or have a full-time job. This information, while beneficial to know, just seems adds one more thing to stress about to an already hectic college lifestyle.

Critical Thinking About Centenarians

Self: I thought the Georgian Centenarian Study was very interesting and presented some new facts about healthy aging and the traits typical of centenarians. Learning about these character traits caused me to think about my own personality and wonder what potential "healthy aging traits" that I possess. One comment that many centenarians made that really caused me to think about my own lifestyle and habits was about letting go of unnecessary stress. I would like to think that I can manage stress decently well but after watching the video I wonder what more I could be doing in order to alleviate stress in my life and thus have a better chance to age healthily.

Practice: As I mentioned before, limiting the amount of stress in my life and learning how to better deal with great amounts of stress are two things I can do in my every day life to hopefully postpone the negative effects of aging. One question I did have while watching the video is what the centenarians do on a daily basis. A few of the people interviewed commented that they are satisfied with their everyday life and I am curious to know what they do to fill their time during the day so as to stay satisfied and happy. I would also like to know how large of a role family and friends (social interaction in general) plays on a person's well being and aging.

Calculating My Life Expectancy

I really enjoyed this week's assignment to complete the only quiz to determine our approximate life expectancy. To be honest, I received a higher number than I was anticipating but I guess that could be considered a good thing. I did find it interesting some of the questions that were asked however. Some of the ones that really stood out to me were about flossing your teeth, wearing a seat-belt and the amount of caffeine consumed daily. It seems odd that such trivial things can make a difference on our aging. I especially found it interesting to see the recommended steps to take to add years on to your life. For example, it seems unreal that simply exercising one more day per week can supposedly add up to 1.5 years to my life.

While this survey was interesting and fun to take, I don't believe the results are 100% true by any stretch of the imagination. There are a lot of variables that go into a person's aging. The fact that I am only 20 years old also adds to the fact that it is hard to determine my set lifestyle habits and potential longevity at this point in time.

The Role of Genetics in Aging

The article I found is actually referring to a radio program but I thought it was pretty interesting none-the-less. (http://www.dnafiles.org/programs/genetics-aging-longevity)

What originally caught my attention in this article was the statement that the only "proven" way to ward off age-related diseases is calorie restriction. This point was also made by our guest speaker, Dr. Bronikowski. However the author admits that this approach to avoiding aging simply isn't feasible for humans, which I completely agree with. That being said, I did find it interesting to learn that there is a "longevity" gene that has been found in various test subjects. This gene is believed to be located within the human DNA as well and if located, could be used to "cure" or slow the affects of aging.

I think it is fascinating to know that specific genes could be the key to understanding aging in humans. I don't know that genetic therapy is the answer however, and it scares me a bit to think that one day humans could be immortal to a certain extent. I personally prefer to believe other environmental effects and actions could help to slow the effects of human aging.

What Processes Cause Aging?

I found the reading about the various process that cause aging to be interesting but had a hard time understanding some of the finer details and more complex explanations. I do find it interesting that oxidation has been found to be a possible contributor to aging in humans. It seems strange that humans need oxygen in order to sustain life but too much oxygen over time also causes us to age. I suppose this could be a system that evolved with time to ensure that all humans eventually age and die.

Along with the theory about oxidation I learned that some cells (such as the brain and muscles) are unable to be replaced after birth, even when damaged. In my opinion, this helps explain why aging is typically defined in terms of brain and muscle functionality as age allows more damage to occur and accumulate. I look forward to hearing what everyone else has to say about the processes mentioned in the reading as well as hopefully gaining a better understanding of some of the biological processes discussed (especially about the glucose damage).