Who were the investigators, and what were the aims of the studies? Helping older adults improve their balance is an important way to help lower the risk of falling. Tai chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, enhances body awareness. Previous research had shown that tai chi is an effective approach to improving balance, but whether […]

Imagine that you are locked in an embrace with a lover right now. Think about how good it feels when you are caressed lovingly, the tingly sensations you get. You can thank your somesthetic system for that; without it, you probably wouldn’t bother. Remember Bertha, the older woman worried about falling? To maintain balance and […]

Experiencing hearing loss is one of the most well — known normative changes with age (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004). A visit to any housing complex for older adults will easily verify this point; you will quickly notice that television sets and radios are turned up fairly loud in most of the apartments. Yet you don’t […]

Have you ever watched middle-aged people try to read something that is right in front of them? If they do not already wear glasses or contact lenses, they typically move the material farther away so that they can see it clearly. This change in vision is one of the first noticeable signs of aging, along […]

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • What age-related changes happen in vision? • How does hearing change as people age? • What age-related changes occur in people’s senses of touch and balance? • What happens to taste and smell with increasing age? B ertha has attended Sunday services in her local AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church for 82 […]

The appearance of wrinkles, gray hair, fat, and the like can have major effects on a person’s self-concept (Aldwin & Gilmer, 2004) and reflect ageism in society (Clarke & Griffin, 2008). Middle-aged adults may still think of themselves as productive members of soci­ety and rebel against being made invisible (Clarke & Griffin, 2008). Because U. […]

Being able to get around on one’s own is an impor­tant part of remaining independent. As you will see, we all experience some normative changes that can affect our ability to remain mobile, but most of these changes do not inevitably result in serious limitations. Muscles and Balance. Although the amount of mus­cle tissue in […]

If you have been around the same older people, such as your grandparents, for many years, you undoubtedly have noticed that the way their bodies look changed over time. Two changes are especially visible: a decrease in height and fluctuations in weight. Height remains fairly stable until the 50s, but between the mid-50s and mid-70s […]

When we, like Kristina, see the first visible signs of aging, it makes no difference that these changes are universal and inevitable. Nor does it matter that our wrinkles are caused by a combination of changes in the structure of the skin and its connective and sup­portive tissue and the cumulative effects of exposure to […]

LEARNING OBJECTIVES • How do our skin, hair, and voices change with age? • What happens to our body build with age? • What age-related changes occur in our ability to move around? 70 CHAPTER 3 B y all accounts, Kristina is extremely successful. She was a famous model in her late teens and 20s, […]