GETTING old and older can be unpleasant. Your hair falls off, your knees ache and your skin dries up and wrinkles. You become forgetful, you cough constantly, and you are unable to sleep properly.
So, like many other old folks in Singapore, you pass the long, lonely evenings sitting and sipping cheap beer in your neighbourhood kopitiam as a young China girl in short skirt keeps topping your glass and encouraging you to drink more. You excuse your drinking because it’s a “harmless” indulgence to fudge your mind from the constant worry of an infirmed future.
Beer, wine, brandy and other spirits are nothing but poison. Drinking only makes a bad situation worse.
Here’s why old age sucks:
Fragile bones, painful joints
Your bones reach their maximum mass and density when you are around 30. As you age, the bones shrink in size and density. As a result, you will tend to slope, and, worse, your bones can break easily. You also start experiencing pain in your knee joints, and in your fingers.
Heart
Your heart is nothing but muscle. No, it will not get heartbroken when you grow older and weaker, but it becomes less efficient, working harder to pump the same amount of blood through your body.
Your blood vessels lose elasticity. Hardened fatty deposits may form on the inner walls of your arteries (atherosclerosis), narrowing the vessels. Loss of elasticity, in combination with atherosclerosis, makes your arteries stiffer. So your heart to work even harder to pump blood through them, leading to high blood pressure (hypertension).
Kidneys and leaky bladder
Your kidneys become less efficient in removing waste from the bloodstream. Drinking alcohol, and chronic conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure and some medications can damage your kidneys further.
About one in 10 people who are 65 and older has experienced a loss of bladder control (urinary incontinence). Incontinence can be caused by obesity, frequent constipation and chronic cough.
In older men, incontinence is sometimes caused by an enlarged prostate, which can block the urethra. This makes it difficult to empty your bladder and can cause small amounts of urine to leak.
Brain and memory
The number of cells (neurons) in your brain decreases with age. Your memory becomes less efficient, and you tend to forget things.
Sight
With age, your eyes are less able to produce tears, your retinas thin, and your lenses gradually turn yellow and become less clear. In your 40s, focusing on objects that are close up may become difficult. Later, the irises of your eyes stiffen, making your pupils less responsive. This can make it more difficult to adapt to different levels of light. You may not see well in the dark.
Common conditions that affect aging eyes include cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration.
Hearing
Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting adults who are middle-aged and older. Loud noises can damage the sensory hair cells of your inner ears over the years.
Some old people find it difficult to follow a conversation in a crowded room. Changes in the inner ear or in the nerves attached to it, earwax buildup and various diseases can all affect your hearing.
Skin and hair
With age, your skin thins and becomes less elastic and more fragile. You'll likely notice that you bruise more easily. Decreased production of natural oils may make your skin drier and more wrinkled. Age spots can occur, and small growths called skin tags are more common.
Your hair may gray and thin. In addition, you perspire less, making it harder to stay cool in high temperatures and putting you at increased risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
How fast your skin ages depends on many factors. The more sunlight your skin has been exposed to, the more damaged it may be. Your risk of skin cancer increases as you age.
Sleep
Sleep needs change little throughout adulthood. If you need six hours of sleep nightly, chances are you'll always need six hours – give or take 30 minutes. However, as you age, you'll likely find that you sleep less soundly, meaning you'll need to spend more time in bed to get the same amount of sleep. By 75, some people wake up several times each night.
Weight
As you age, maintaining a healthy weight – or losing weight if you're overweight – is more difficult. Your body burns fewer calories. Calories that were once used to meet your daily energy needs instead are stored as fat.
Strategies for better aging
It is never too late to adopt a healthy lifestyle. If you quit smoking and drinking alcohol now, your risk of heart disease or stroke will be reduced greatly.
Living a healthy lifestyle can improve how you age. Here're eight commandments to help you fa in old age:
1. Stop smoking.
2. Stop drinking any form of alcohol (particularly beer and wine).
3. Cut back on sweet food and drinks.
4. Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
5. Do brisk walk, and then running, at least 30 minutes most days of the week.
6. Maintain a healthy weight.
7. Get enough sleep so you wake feeling rested.
8. Follow doctor's advice for checkups and health screenings.
More on healthy living and healthy pursuits here.
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