Essay On Life Expectancy

Decent Essays
What changes occur in the sensory, vital functions, reproductive system, and nervous system as we age?

There are many changes that occur inside our body as we age. With vision, there are two major changes that occur. The first one is a decrease in the amount of light that passes through the eyes which produce vision problems in older adults. Another change that occurs in vision is the ability to adapt to different light declines. When older adults go from a dark room to a lighter one, it takes a while for their eyes to adjust. In some cases, their vision may blur. A significant change that in sensory functioning older adults experience is the ability to see objects closely. The lens in the eye does not function as well. This results in poor color discrimination and needing more time to see things clearly. Diseases of the eye may occur for
…show more content…
Different ethnic groups have different averages of life expectancy. Ethnic factors that influence life expectancy are nutrition, health care, stress, and socioeconomic status. The difference in ethnic average longevity varies because some ethnics groups may have better access to good-quality health care than others. European American’s do not live as long as African Americans because African Americans have better access to health care. However, Latinos have a higher life expectancy than Europeans and African Americas. There is no definitive explanation between ethnic groups.

How does prolonged exposure to stress impact health and aging? Please describe.

Stress has a negative impact on health. For people who are dealing with it should find a way to reduce the level of their stress on their body. Individuals with prolonged exposure to stress result in damage to the nervous system and a weakened immune system. Prolonged stress can lead to a number of diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer. Also, prolonged stress can affect heart rate, respiration, and blood

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Self assessment test re assure me that I need to change some of my habits to be able to control my stress. I was surprised at the fact that my results told me I was at a high risk of getting ill in a near future due to stress. Most of my stress is due to my work schedule and the fact that I am resting very little and when I happened to have a day off I have to do something with the kids or house errands. Stress can impact the body in manning different ways. From anxiety that leads to weight gain to eating disorders.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hot Tub Essay

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Failing to find effective methods of dealing with stress can actually shave years off your life. Scientific evidence shows chronic stress can significantly shorten your lifespan. A higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental illness has been linked to a constant, elevated level of stress. Thus, unwinding and letting go will do more than keep you happy; it will keep you healthy as well.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Changes in Tissue Homeostasis of the Elderly That Result in Altered Cognitive; Motor Abilities. As we age, homeostasis is harder to achieve within all of our cells. The cardiac muscle tissue and the walls of the blood vessels thicken, decreasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients that is pumped out to the entire body. The thickness of the blood vessels makes it hard for nutrients to enter the other tissues body, and for wastes to leave these tissues.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Muscles bone and joints As we age so does our bodies, changes in the body is a result of changes muscles bone and joints. Our muscles will weaken, joins will ache and our bones will become brittle. Although this is a natural part of aging, how we treat our bodies now will affect how our body function in the future. Things like having a physically activate lifestyle, not doing a lot of physically activities, how we eat.…

    • 473 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    stress isnt always a bad thing. it can he handy for a burst of energy. when stress becomes constant it actually begins to change the brain. chronic stress can effect brain structure and how it functions (J Bremner, 2006). Stress begins with the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aging may hinder attention; mostly, it limits an individual’s ability to multitask. Ability to memorize multiple things at the same time is also affected; also, ability to form new memories is vulnerable. Verbal abilities such as word retrieval tend to take longer and an elderly client may experience difficulty in finding the right words when engaged in a conversation. Recalling names may also become difficult. Problem solving and reasoning when encountered with new problems tends to takes longer.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life Expectancy Paper

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Life Expectancy Amanda Blake Anthropology 101: Intro to Cultural Anthropology Lise Byars George 10/19/2015 Life expectancy varies due to race and social status. Until the statistics are present it is hard to understand how life expectancy is measured at birth. In this paper I will be discussing the impact of race, education, and social status on past and present life expectancy. I will be discussing life expectancy from an etic or outsiders perspective. I will also be examining an aspect from another culture from an emic or insiders perspective.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Stress may be caused by any things which need us to change. Stress relies on a situation and how people detect it. It may last a period of time or provisional. Somethings make a person feel stress which may not affect other person with the same feeling. For example, some basketball player may enjoy their competition without feeling stressed, while some player may feel nervous every time and find it hard to deal with.…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    End Of Life Care Essay

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Subject of Clinical Inquiry: Advanced Directive/Care Planning Background questions: • As a result of the passage of health reform, there has been a political controversies surrounding the language, messaging regarding advance care planning, and end-of-life care decisions. • The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report in September 2014, that reassessed the status of end-of-life care in America • The IOM report recommended for policies and strategies to support care delivery that • is high-quality, person-centered, and financially sustainable. • The Personalize Your Care Act was purposed through legislature that offered Medicare and Medicaid coverage for voluntary advanced care planning to be done once every five years • In a study report done in January 2014, it…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Older Americans Act Essay

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Older Americans Act (OAA) was enacted by congress in 1965 and was signed into law by former President Lynden Johnson. OAA generated the groundwork to coordinate and provide community-based services and supports for older adults and their families. Its mission is extensive: “to help older people maintain maximum independence in their homes and communities and to promote a continuum of care for the vulnerable elderly” (nhpf, 2012). Aging is an uncontrollable process in life. It is defined as the process of getting old and the population that is affected is those who are 65 and older.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aging In America

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Aging is inevitable in all living things. As individuals age, a number of things occur, both mental and physical. Graying hair and wrinkled skin are external signs of aging and the most noticeable. Cognitive changes, which are associated with mental processes such as sensation and perception, memory, intelligence, language, thought, and problem-solving, occur among aging adults (American Psychological Association, 2015). People age at different rates depending on genetics, diet, culture, activity level and environmental exposure.…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Prolonged periods of high stress can be detrimental to health, mentally and physiologically (Wilkinson & Marmot, 2003). Specifically, individuals experiencing chronic stress often suffer from impaired mental ability to prioritise health and commonly develop unhealthy coping behaviours, which in turn negatively impact their health status (Marmot & Wilkinson, 2006). Moreover, chronic stress diverts energy and resources away from essential physiological processes, which are imperative for long-term health (Wilkinson & Marmot, 2003). Short-term, the physical impacts of stress go unnoticed, however accumulation of prolonged chronic stress can attack the immune and cardiovascular system, predisposing individuals to numerous infections and diseases such as, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, depression, and heart attack (Wilkinson & Marmot,…

    • 1315 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Summary Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, whose symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years depending on age of onset and the presence of other health conditions. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Context of the Problem Research funding remains inadequate, and the pervasiveness of the Alzheimer’s, is widely misunderstood. Alzheimer's currently costs the United States some $214 billion annually, according to federal government estimates. Care of the victims will cost Medicare and Medicaid $150 billion in the current fiscal year; the remaining costs will fall largely on patients and their families.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stress Speech Outline

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Stress contract the parties of the heart causing blood flow to build which can lead to plaque buildup. Over time the buildup weakens the heart muscles which can cause heart failure or arrhythmias (National Institutes of Health, 2016). Stress is a part of life and can affect you mentally and physically. Changing the thinking process of stress will be difficult, but changing your mind is better than coronary heart diseases shortening your lifespan. Transition:…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    5. Stress can have serious impact on one’s life; it leads to illness and if not taken care of can trigger serious problems such as heart attacks, strokes or break downs. Stress is unhealthy for both the body and the mind and if one is constantly tired and worn then everyday life will become a chore and productivity in one’s life will do down causing depression. 6. 1.…

    • 2961 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Improved Essays