Middle Adulthood Physical and Cognitive Development Flashcards
Changing midlife
many 50 year olds today are healthier than 40 year olds a generation or two ago, middle age is starting to last longer, “Midlife is the afternoon of life”
may be characterized by
loss of a parent, last child leaving the home, becoming a grandparent, preparing for retiring, gains and losses balance each other out
physical changes
skin begins to wrinkle and sag, age spots, thinning and greying hair
-greater interest in plastic surgery, keep the perception that im not slowed down
Height
lose height
weight
many gain weight, body fat makes up 20% of the body in midlife rather than the 10% in adolescence
Sarcopenia
age-related loss of muscle mass and strength
-exercise can postpone
joints and bones
cartilage and connective tissue becomes less effective
bone loss
women experience twice the rate, bones break easily and heal slowly
Cardiovascular system
blood pressure and cholesterol become problematic, women’s blood pressure rises and stays higher than mens after menopause
Lungs
little change besides becoming less elastic other than in smokers
vision
ability to focus eye on an image decline between 40 and 59, need for reading glasses
Hearing
declines after 40, sensitivity to high pitches goes first, men lose sensitivity sooner than women
Sleep
beginning at 40s, less deep sleep, more time laying awake
-sleep problems are more common for those with higher number of prescription medications
sleep apnea
repetitive collapse of upper airway and blocked breathing 5 or more times an hour, living a healthy lifestyle will reduce
health and disease
frequency of accidents declines, less susceptible to colds, stress is found to be a factor in disease, especially chronic stress
chronic diseases
rare in early adulthood, culture effects cardiovascular disease
gender differences in health
Men: higher rates of death on the job, less likely to see selves as ill or susceptible to death, more likely to develop autoimmune disease
SES and health
SES one of the strongest predictors of health/illness
Mortality rates
many deaths are caused by single identifiable cause, leading causes: heart disease, cancer, cardiovascular disease
Climacteric
midlife transition which fertility declines, menopause for women, average age 51
treating effects of menopause
Hormone replacement therapy- augments declining levels of reproductive hormone production, negative increase in risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease
Male menopause
has less to do with hormonal change than with psychological adjustment to overall decline, testosterone levels decline
Crystallized intelligence
long term memory, accumulated info and verbal skills
Fluid intelligence
ability to reason abstractly, and think quicker begins to decline
studying intelligence
cross-sectional vs longitudinal make a big difference in results
Adult thinking
instead of thinking becoming weaker, it just becomes different, more thoughtful
memory
some decline in memory, working memory- the mental workbench tends to slow down more. the information hasn’t gone, just the ability to access it is declined
Expertise
shows up in middle adulthood, many years of experience
Seattle longitudinal study
Mental abilities that were the best: verbal ability, verbal memory, spatial orientation, and inductive reasoning
Work
globalization of work, development of technologies, downsizing or organizations, early retirement, concerns about pensions and health care, some self motivated to change job
leisure
pleasant times after work when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests, leisure can become preparation for retirement
