Friday, May 1, 2015

The Power of Youth



            In the prime of our youth, we humans are at the peak of our abilities both mentally and physically. We are at our strongest when we are of a fairly young age; however, that strength begins to fade away as we get older. The aging process slowly strips us of our abilities and takes us down a notch over time. A prime example of this idea is seen in the sporting world. In sports such as basketball and football, certain athletes in their prime are designated as being the top player at their position. A few years after they are past their prime, these same athletes are no longer heralded as the best; instead, they have passed the torch down to their younger peers. These younger athletes are the new elite players of the sport, while the older veterans are a shell of their past selves. Both physically and mentally the older athletes have lost a step and are unable to process the sport as well as they used to. These athletes illustrate the idea that the process of aging negatively affects our abilities both physically and mentally.   
            Weisenbach and her colleagues wanted to gain a better understanding as to specifically how the aging process affects the cognitive abilities of human beings. Their research also focused on the effects of disease on cognitive skills, narrowing in specifically on bipolar disease. Previous research had shown that both aging and disease lowered an individual’s cognitive abilities such as psychomotor speed, attention, executive functions, memory, and motor skills. Based off this past research, Weisenbach hypothesized that older individuals would exhibit poorer cognitive abilities while younger individuals would exhibit higher performance levels. The participants of the study were split up into two age groups, one group of participants 30 or younger and another group of participants aged 50-65, and asked to perform various cognitive tasks. As expected, the older participants of the group performed worse in cognitive tasks than the younger participants, thereby illustrating the idea that aging impairs an individual’s cognition.
            The process of aging is irreversible; there is no known way to get younger or regain our youth. This also implies that, as we age, our cognitive skills continue to disappear and erode. However, there may be ways by which we can avoid the loss of our cognitive abilities while we age. Allerhand and his colleagues were concerned with inhibiting the loss of cognitive skills through aging and focused on the idea of psychological well-being. Maintaining a positive psychological well-being is associated with “healthy aging” according to past research shown in Allerhand’s study. However, what is unclear is how having a positive well-being affects cognition, a crucial component of aging as already discussed. According to Allerhand, higher levels of positive well-being are associated with reduced neuroendocrine activity, lower concentrations of inflammatory factors, higher concentrations of HDL cholesterol, and lower blood pressure. All of these factors that are in relationships with higher levels of positive well-being are also indicators of good health, especially in older individuals.
Participants in Allerhand’s study were chosen from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA), a longitudinal study of adults aged 50 or more. Cognition and positive well-being of the participants were measured through surveys and interviews. The results indicated that cognitive function is significantly associated with positive well-being; however, the associations were small in strength. This indicates that, though aging is an irreversible process, the consequences that come with old age are not necessarily ensured to come with it. With the right mindset, anybody can fight off the negative aspects of old age and maintain the same cognitive strength as when they were in the prime of their youth.

Weisenbach, S. L., Marshall, D., Weldon, A. L., Ryan, K. A., Vederman, A. C., Kamali, M., Zubieta, J., McInnis, M. G., & Langenecker, S. A. (2014). The double burden of age and disease on cognition and quality of life in bipolar disorder. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 29. p. 952-961. doi: 10.1002/gps.4084

Allerhand, M., Gale, C. R., & Deary, I. J. (2014). The dynamic relationship between cognitive function and positive well-being in older people: a prospective study using the English longitudinal study of aging. Psychology and Aging, 29. p. 306-318. doi: 10.1037/a0036551

http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.flagship.luc.edu/sp-3.15.1b/ovidweb.cgi?&S=HIJKFPFPPMDDLLILNCKKPBGCJBNNAA00&Link+Set=S.sh.41|1|sl_10


                                                                                                

No comments:

Post a Comment