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/ Federal Agency for Education
Moscow Institute of State and corporate governance Test in the discipline: Valeology on the topic:
Medical and social aspects of longevity Dubna 2009
1. At what age can a person be called a centenarian?
2. The most famous centenarians
3.What influences life extension
4.Medical aspects of longevity
5.Brain activity
6.Social aspects longevity
Conclusion
Bibliography Introduction How long can a person live? Seventy, eighty years? According to the calculations of biologists, the lifespan of any organism can range from 7 to 14 periods of maturity. A person reaches maturity at 20-25 years old, therefore, his life could last up to 280 years.
Some gerontologists believe that a person can live longer. For example, Dr. Christopherson from London expressed the following idea: “A person can live 300, 400 or even 1000 years if his body is provided with all the substances necessary for life.”
To live a long life and stay vigorous and healthy is the dream of every person. Our ancestors have been searching for the elixir of youth and longevity for hundreds of years. The recipe was never found, but average duration human life has nevertheless increased. If in the Stone Age homo sapiens lived on average 20 years, and during the Roman Empire life expectancy was calculated at 35 years, but now it reaches 70-75 years.
In terms of lifestyle and habitat, centenarians are a “close to ideal” model of a person, to which all people should strive. This is especially important for modern society, where family, traditional forms of education have weakened, and each person, as if anew, practically forgetting the experience of humanity in accumulating health, rushes into the maelstrom of life, mainly consisting of violent passions, selfishness, selfishness, etc.
Many people mistakenly believe that a person will not be able to live long without getting sick or aging unless he returns back “closer to nature.” But what should this step back be? Swinging from trees? Or live in a cave and wear skins? Or maybe a step back is just a log cabin with no electricity or running water?
But the fact is that the conditions in which we grew up and live are natural for us, and we enjoy the benefits of civilization. However, this does not mean that we should put up with its shortcomings, and if we wish, we can do something to correct them.
Longevity, when a person reaches the age of 80 years or older, is one of the important indicators age characteristics population. It is closely related to the state of people’s health and depends on a number of socio-economic factors.
“We should not consider premature old age with its decrepitude, infirmity and humiliation as our lot. At the age of 80, a person should be just approaching his prime.” Scientists spoke about this at the already mentioned medical congress in Switzerland. On this occasion, Dr. Douglas from London, a famous nutritionist and nutrition consultant, expressed the following thought:
“We have research data in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, nutrition, biology, physiology, psychology and parapsychology, which give a person the opportunity to reach the biological limit of life. A person can live a long time without aging.”
You obviously remember the words of Dr. Christopherson that a person can live 300, 400 and even 1000 years if he provides his body with all the vital substances. Professor Starling believes that the latest discoveries in the field of chemistry human body will allow you to increase not the period of aging, but the age of youth. Speaking about ways and means of fighting against old age, Dr. George Aldridge states: as a result of discoveries in the field of biochemistry, human life expectancy will be increased, the human race will qualitatively improve and become stronger, as a result of which man will acquire additional spiritual and material goods.
"We can make old age wait," says Dr. Tom Spies. Those who manage to do this will obviously need to be prepared both mentally and physically; they will form the core of a better and stronger human race.
Biological time, i.e., life expectancy, of living organisms ranges from several hours to several centuries. For example, there are ephemeral insects; others live for several months or a year. Some birds and animals live up to 20 years, and there are others that live more than a hundred.
Variations in lifespan are also observed in the plant kingdom, although the reasons for such fluctuations have not yet been established. Some types of trees (for example, sequoia-dendron, or mammoth tree) in California live up to two thousand years, others (for example, oak) live for several hundred years. True, there is one 1000-year-old oak tree that grew near Hastings (Great Britain).
Even more mysterious is the fact that some individuals of any plant species live 2-3 times longer than they should. So, in Germany there is a rose bush that is several decades older than its “brothers”.
Biologists believe that different durations life can be explained by the “limiting factor” inherent in each organism. They believe that individual centenarians are nature's favorites.
Whatever the reasons for the individual achievements on the path to longevity, they prove that significant increases in life expectancy are possible.
Let's consider another unique creation of nature - the queen bee. Worker bees and drones live from 4 to 5 months, and the queen lives about 8 years. At the same time, the uterus is not from birth some kind of super-perfect individual - it is an ordinary larva. Its phenomenal (for a bee) lifespan, large size and more advanced appearance- the result of a special diet.
For the first three days, all larvae in the hive receive the same food. After this, the larvae, which are to become queens, are given special food. After a certain time, they feed on only one substance called royal jelly. It is this food that contributes to the transformation of an ordinary larva into a queen bee.
For people, everything is much more complicated. A person does not have the opportunity to exist in an environment with a constantly controlled temperature, with a special diet, with attendants, and cannot live according to a pre-established pattern. He has to overcome many serious obstacles on the path to longevity.
Biologists are engaged in researching these obstacles, and are also trying to find ways and methods to eliminate them. Obviously, old age is not one of these obstacles: the percentage of people dying from natural old age is negligible.
Self-poisoning (autointoxication) is one of the main reasons that shortens human life.
Negative factors also include unfavorable living conditions, lack of vitamins, etc. One of the scientists came to the following conclusion: “ Death most often occurs from an insufficiently balanced intake of iron, copper, magnesium and potassium into the body, i.e. essential minerals».
It is believed that stress syndrome is a strong factor that kills a person prematurely.
IN Lately they talk about him very often. Excitement, grief, fear - any negative emotions disrupt the functions of the glands, digestive organs, increase blood pressure, create increased tension in the body, and destroy cellular structures. Psychologists say that people often die because negative thoughts are constantly present in their minds.
Today, scientists pay special attention to the relationship between the state of a person’s psyche and the functioning of his body. English oncologist Sir Genege Ogilvy claims that he has not yet met a single cancer patient without any mental disorders. When a difficult problem arises in front of a person, which he cannot solve for a long time, then such prolonged mental work affects the entire body: a headache or other headache appears. physical pain and some kind of disease may even develop. For example, in some cases, experts attributed asthma to either unresolved problems or broken hopes.
This mechanism of disease occurrence in humans is somewhat reminiscent of the process of pearl formation. As you know, the mollusk produces pearls around foreign body, which he cannot get rid of, since the formation of a pearl brings him relief to some extent. However, eliminating the main irritant is only a half-measure, and not a solution to the problem.
Scientists have found that a person who unsuccessfully tries to be the center of everyone's attention seriously deteriorates in physical condition. This deterioration in well-being is real, although its cause lies in the psyche.
It’s simply amazing how much brain activity affects the state of organs and systems.
The normal functioning of the body, to a greater or lesser extent, depends on the activity of the endocrine glands: if it is disrupted, signs of a particular disease may appear. Each gland produces hormones that control or regulate physical processes in the body, with the pituitary gland playing a crucial role. In turn, the activity of the pituitary gland is regulated nerve centers cerebral cortex.
As a result of stress syndrome, thoughts and emotions, figuratively speaking, “pull the strings” in the body. Your main task is to ensure that these strings do not get “tightened” if you want to successfully fight against premature aging and death. And now I'll try to give brief description those tools and methods that will help you.
Balanced diet
Some nutritionists believe that it is possible to increase life expectancy to 150–200 years only through balanced nutrition. The term “rational nutrition” refers to a balanced intake of all necessary substances into the body with food. Rational nutrition is not just about saturating the body.
(The stomach is easy to deceive - it will say “thank you” for a dish of an old shoe, stewed until soft and seasoned with some sauce). This is the food that contains everything necessary for the body substances.
If the foods you consume daily are unsatisfactory in terms of nutritional value (if you mainly prefer flour, sweets, fried foods), this will negatively affect your well-being.
Proper nutrition can do wonders. In the practice of Dr. Tom Spies, there are known cases of “resurrection” of chronically ill people. They were in such poor condition that they had not worked for years. Most of these patients were referred to the nutrition clinic after being rejected by other physicians. As a treatment method, a balanced diet containing large doses of vitamins and mineral salts was prescribed. Thanks to him, they were able to regain their health and return to work. Among the patients were people of various professions associated with heavy physical labor (shipbuilders, miners, farmers), as well as office workers and housewives.
In England, some doctors consider the disease a sign of a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. One of them, through a balanced diet, cured many of his patients, including cancer patients. He recently consulted with a woman who had been suffering from diarrhea (severe stomach upset) for about three months. Her doctor was unable to help and referred her to a specialist using traditional methods. But he also turned out to be powerless. The woman was losing weight and weakening. Three days after starting the diet, she felt better. After a few weeks she recovered and there were no new relapses.
Let me give you a few cases from my own practice. One of my patients suffered from rheumatism, her knees resembled basketballs, the pain did not stop for a minute. In addition, she had a chronic skin disease: periodic swelling of the face, weeping eczema on the fingers. Doctors could not do anything because they did not know the cause of the diseases. The diet I prescribed with nutritional supplements helped within a few months. When she walked into the hospital recently for a check-up, she was told: “You are healthy. This is just a miracle".
Another patient suffered from severe hemorrhoids.
Doctors said that only surgery could help, but she did not want to have surgery. I suggested a diet with nutritional supplements and she agreed to try it.
In less than two months, the hemorrhoids disappeared.
Proper nutrition often cures migraines - I know of several similar cases.
Dietary treatment also helps dogs. Paralysis, skin diseases - these diseases are the result of poor nutrition. Dachshund with peripheral paralysis I treated it with a diet with mineral and vitamin supplements. After some time, she was able to run again, although she was sentenced to death by a veterinarian who could not help her.
These “miracles” of nutrition give us an idea of the possibilities and prospects of the new science. As Professor Sherman says, with the help of food you can give your body everything it needs to prolong youth and health.
To take the first step towards increasing your life expectancy, you must determine for yourself the optimal way to quench the “thirst and hunger of the cells.”
Cells various organs require different nutrition, however, the task of feeding all the cells is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.
After reading the chapter on nutrition, as well as familiarizing yourself with the table in the appendix, you can easily create a menu that will meet all the requirements for the concept of “rational nutrition”. The products I offer you are the most common ones. Eating right means choosing those foods that will nourish the body, excluding those that are useless or harmful to it.
The right diet can produce amazing results.
Movement and muscles
Rational nutrition is the main, but not the only factor in the fight to prolong life. Movement and muscle fitness are the source of youth and health. Dr. Edward Burtz believes that premature aging may be caused by muscle weakness.
Some try to do everything possible to prevent this process.
Muscle flaccidity is the first signal of the onset of aging.
To maintain their tone, regular and even exercise is necessary. Remember that inactivity is just as harmful to muscles as overexertion.
Great importance It has correct use muscles. Very often you automatically perform movements with your arms and legs, using muscle groups inappropriately. For example, you use your arms to get up from a sitting position, although this work should be done by the muscles of the thighs, abdominals and diaphragm.
The less you load your muscles, the faster they become decrepit and age. As a result, every movement requires more and more effort.
In youth, a person experiences the joy of movement. In old age, every movement turns into flour. To prevent this from happening, constantly monitor your body, strengthen your muscles, and don’t let them sit idle. And one day you will feel good again and you will become young again.
Muscle training technique is an important aspect of a longevity program.
Correct breathing
Everyone knows: if we don't breathe, we don't live.
But not everyone probably understands that proper breathing significantly improves well-being. The frequency of breathing, the depth of inhalations and exhalations affects all functions of the body, including brain activity.
They say that frequent and shallow breathing shortens life. So, a dog breathes much more often than a person, and the average life expectancy is 4 times less.
Therefore, our longevity program should include the technique of proper breathing - longer and deeper.
Brain activity
The brain is the coordinating center of the human body and has both positive and negative effects on it. For example, on the one hand, the ability to create mental images, which can accelerate the achievement desired results in one field or another. On the other hand - stress syndrome and its negative consequences.
How to avoid overstrain, contradictions, disappointments that await us on the path of life?
An entire book would not be enough to answer this question. In general terms, I can say the following: you must learn to control your consciousness, manage your emotions in order to create a reliable “line of defense” in your body against the destructive power of stress.
Do not forget that everything in the body is interconnected: good health ensures mental balance, and vice versa - a healthy psyche is the key to good physical condition and mood.
So you now have general idea about our longevity program. I chose the words of Dr. Tom Spies as its motto: “We can make old age wait.”
Before you begin implementing this program, I would like to remind you once again that it includes very simple but vitally important aspects:
Balanced diet;
Movement and muscle fitness;
Correct breathing;
The relationship between mental and physical states.
About them and we'll talk in the following chapters.
It is obvious that the problem of life extension is not only biological, medical, but also social. This is fully confirmed by numerous scientific observations, as well as the results of studies of centenarians in our country and abroad.
As Professor K. Platonov noted that “... a person as an individual and as an integral structure has two main and interconnected substructures, necessary and sufficient to cover all his properties and individual characteristics: substructure of the organism and substructure of the personality.
It is a mistake to consider any human activity either only as biologically determined, or as only socially determined.” There is not a single social manifestation of a person’s life that is not inextricably linked with his biological properties. K. Platonov gives an example of human acceleration - his accelerated development in the present era. This is a biological manifestation of his body, but it is due to social influences affecting life expectancy, improving the health and physical condition of the population, its settlement in cities and villages, etc.
The greater the culture of a person, that is, the more influence is felt in him social relations, the more opportunities he has to influence his biology, his health.
The determining factor in longevity is psychological.
Longevity is not a phenomenon, but a consequence of human harmony with the natural environment of existence. The most important thing in this harmony is psychological comfort in communication and pleasure from life. The main character traits of a centenarian are calmness, cordiality, a mood full of optimism and plans for the future, good nature, and peacefulness.
They remain optimistic until old age. In addition, they know how to manage their emotions. One of the Abkhaz centenarians explained her longevity by the ability to be tolerant. Under no circumstances did she allow herself to become irritated or worry about minor troubles, and she tried to treat major ones philosophically. “If something bothers me, I don’t get completely upset right away. I start to worry “gradually”, stretching out my anxiety, so to speak, over a long period of time, while at the same time maintaining self-control, calmness and a philosophical approach. Thus, I I protect myself from excessive suffering and stress. I learned this from my parents." It should be noted that Abkhaz centenarians are proud of their restraint - minor quarrels and abuse are considered as unnecessary irritation and a waste of time.
American scientists have concluded that long-livers, as a rule, are satisfied with their jobs and really want to live. Most of them lead a calm, measured life. The centenarians examined by gerontologists were distinguished by their calm nature, balance, and lack of fussiness. Many of the centenarians led a hard working life, experienced serious hardships, but at the same time remained calm and steadfastly endured all adversity.
Long-livers develop a psychological defense against the awareness of the fact of aging and the inevitability of death, which is determined by character traits, low level anxiety, contact, flexibility of mental reactions. In connection with these psychological characteristics centenarians should remember the statement of Gufelaid, who wrote in 1653 that “among the influences that shorten life, fear, sadness, despondency, envy, and hatred occupy a predominant place.” Based on an analysis of the lifestyle of centenarians over a long period, scientists identify traditional ways of extending life: psychological stability, healthy eating and the absence of any bad habits, choice external environment a habitat. Both scientists who study life extension in theory and centenarians themselves agree on one thing: the main guarantee of a long life is good spirits. It has long been proven that people who are optimistic live longer than pessimists. Maintaining sociability and not allowing your usual circle of interests to narrow over the years is the key to an optimistic outlook on life. And it, in turn, ensures mental health, which in old age is no less important than physical health.
In his travel notes about the Caucasus, Karl May clearly writes that every second person here is long-lived. He began to look for a solution and found it. It's amazingly simple. Caucasians live so long because they like it!
Attitudes towards centenarians in the past
Let's consider how it was customary to treat old people in different eras and in different countries.
In the Stone Age, the attitude towards the weak and old was cruel. Old people were expelled to the mountains and deserts. The life of one individual was of little value; the survival of an entire species was the main thing. For example, pastures and hunting grounds have become depleted and new ones must be found. People could not expect the natural death of old people who were unable to withstand the difficult road; when they moved, they left the old people in the old place. But time passed, and attitudes towards old people changed. IN Ancient Egypt They found a papyrus on which a congratulation to the teacher was written:
You gave 110 years of your life to this country,
and your limbs are as healthy as the body of a gazelle.
You drove death from your doors,
and no disease has power over you,
above you, who will never be old.
The sacred book of ancient Christians - the Old Testament - obliges children to honor their parents and take care of them.
In China, they have always treated older people with respect, showing warmth and cordiality. If a parent died, the son wore mourning for three years and had no right to travel (and this despite the fact that the Chinese are passionate travelers). And today old people in China live surrounded by care and love.
In Africa they also respected and respect their ancestors. African philosophy views life as an eternal circle (birth, death, birth). Old age represents transition state between life, death and rebirth. An elderly person is a storehouse of wisdom. No wonder in Mali they say: “When he dies an old man, the whole library is dying.”
Unfortunately, the attitude towards older people was not favorable everywhere. In Sparta, elderly and sick people were thrown into the abyss. In ancient Rome, an old man was dragged to a river to be thrown there. The sentenced old men had the inscription on their foreheads: “The one who must be thrown off the bridge.”
And yet, despite the cruelty legalized by the state, there were people who were not afraid to express a different opinion about the elderly. Sophocles insisted that older people should hold high positions because they were wise.
IN modern world older people also lack respect from young people. But is this only the fault of young people? Rudolf Steiner, when asked why our youth do not respect their elders, answered: “We do not know how to grow old. As we grow older, we do not become wiser. We simply degrade and fall apart mentally and physically. And only with some there is a breakthrough and they become wise.”
Social environment
Demand in family and society is what is necessary to maintain health and well-being in old age.
Many centenarians were married, and more than once; they got married in old age. Thus, the Frenchman Longueville lived until he was 110 years old, married 10 times, and the last time at ninety years old, his wife gave birth to a son when he was 101 years old. So, marriage prolongs life.
In Abkhazian culture, there are many forms of behavior developed over centuries that help overcome the effects of stress factors. Participation in rituals is of great importance life path and in general in events that are significant for a person for a significant number of people - relatives, neighbors, acquaintances. Similar forms of behavior exist among other peoples of the Caucasus. But in Abkhazia, the scale of moral and material support, mutual assistance of relatives and neighbors in situations of vital changes - weddings or funerals - attracts attention.
The main conclusion drawn from this study was that residents of the Caucasus almost completely lack feelings of uncertainty and anxiety associated with the expectation of undesirable changes in the social status of a long-lived old man as his age increases. Aging and possible negative physical changes associated with it do not lead to depressive mental states in centenarians, which, apparently, has a direct connection with the phenomenon of longevity.
In demography, the quantitative and qualitative composition of the population is usually depicted in the form of a pyramid, the base of which is newborns and children; then there is a gradual narrowing of the pyramid, taking into account mortality in each age period; its top are people aged 90 years and older.
By the end of the twentieth century demographic situation has changed radically: the age structure of the population no longer resembles a pyramid, but rather a column, characterized by a relatively small number of children, young people and mature age and a relatively high number of people in older age groups.
According to the UN in 1950. There were 214 million people aged 60 years and older in the world. According to forecasts, their number by 2025 will be about 590 1 billion 100 million... The number of elderly people during this time will increase 5 times, while the world population will increase only 3 times. In this regard, we can talk about the “aging” of society. It is expected that by 2018 average age at the time of death will be 85.6 years. (In Russia, the share of older generation citizens is also progressively increasing: from 11.8 percent in 1959 to 20.5 percent in 1996. The rate of population aging will increase due to the continuing decline in the birth rate. Over the past 30 years, there has been a steady increase in the dependency ratio of the elderly people per 100 able-bodied people. So, if in 1971 this ratio was 21.1 percent, then in 1991 it was already 33.6 percent, and now it exceeds 36 percent. The situation is similar in Ukraine). Every day in the world, 200 thousand people overcome the 60-year mark.
Such changes in the population structure pose a number of serious practical challenges for society. Among them, the most important and difficult remains the extension of active life with minimal losses from dysfunctional disorders. The second, no less important and difficult task is the fight against high morbidity in old and senile age. With age, a kind of “accumulation” of diseases occurs. An aging body has less resistance and the ability to compensate and recover. As life expectancy increases, the period of helpless existence of elderly people with various chronic and mental illness, the progression of which cannot always be stopped with the help of the latest pharmacological agents. The third task is to ensure a decent life for aging people.
The importance of this problem is emphasized by the fact that 1999 was declared by the UN as the Year of the Older Person.
Of course, aging is an inevitable process during which a number of mental and physical functions decline. Nevertheless, data from experimental studies show not only the incorrectness of many existing stereotypes, but also indicate the possibility and ways of adapting to such phenomena. Thus, with age, the average reaction speed slows down. However, if a person is allowed to practice for a few days and automate the action, then most of the age differences in reaction time disappear, since automatic processes are largely unaffected by aging. A decrease in memory function is most typical for the initial stage of aging (50–65 years), while in people aged 65–75 years, memory indicators approach the level of middle age. This is because they are getting used to their new condition and developing ways to overcome it. Older people show virtually no decline in their ability to concentrate.
Anticipating old age in the imagination is often more painful than reality. Thus, the writer and doctor V.V. Veresaev, who in his youth was insanely afraid of growing old, wrote in his declining years that this fear was in vain, and natural wisdom compensated for the inevitable losses.
From the point of view of family psychology, one of the main problems that older people face is the so-called “empty nest syndrome”, i.e. a condition associated with the beginning of an independent family life for the last child. By this time, the family has basically fulfilled its parental function and parents need to fill the resulting void with something; unwillingness to admit this leads to problems either in relationships with children, whose independence the parents refuse to recognize, or, if the children have not completely psychologically separated from the parents’ family, problems arise in the children’s family. If children become independent, relations between parents may become strained (old conflicts that fade into the background before the task of raising children are remembered, or new ones arise - spouses pay more attention to their relationship, while at the same time experiencing discomfort due to the separation of children) or illnesses may develop and worsen. and disorders associated with psychological stress(psychosomatic, neurotic, etc.). The second problem of this age is the death of one of the spouses. Problems may also arise related to raising grandchildren and conflicts with children on this basis.
From point of view developmental psychology elderly age, like other age periods, has its own main developmental task (a unique problem characteristic of a given age), a mental and social crisis associated with this task, and the main process by which this crisis is solved. The main task of old age is wisdom, i.e. understanding and acceptance of one’s own lived life. The main process by which this task is solved is introspection (comprehension of the life lived and its positive acceptance). The main crisis is between personal integrity and despair.
As a result of the normal passage of any age crisis, the so-called final (resulting) behavior, the main components of which are:
– ability to select new information;
– the ability to control and be aware of your attitude to the world, your emotions;
– the ability to freely master a new social environment.
In case of incorrect completion of the previous age crises the problems corresponding to them may remain relevant in old age, disrupting the solution of its main task.
In modern psychology, the point of view is increasingly being established, according to which aging cannot be considered as a simple involution, extinction or regression; rather, it is the ongoing development of a person, including many adaptive and compensatory mechanisms. Moreover, people late age forced to adapt not only to a new situation outside, but also to respond to changes in themselves.
Thus, aging is not reducible only to biological processes, and in many ways the course of the aging process is determined socially and depends on society’s attitude towards older people, as well as on their attitude towards themselves.
It is very important to have an adequate attitude of the person himself and the people around him to his age and condition. Unfortunately, the flip side of the cult of youth that exists in modern society is the spread of ideas about old age as a useless, inferior, humiliating state, an indispensable attribute of which is illness and dependence on the environment. Actually this is not true. Yes, in old age there is a natural decline in a number of physical and mental functions. But, firstly, as practice shows, such a decrease in many cases can be delayed or even not occur as a result of regular training and a physically and psychologically active lifestyle. Secondly, in many cases it is a consequence not of real changes, but of the assimilation of stereotypes of behavior that are “age-appropriate”, and often associated with these stereotypes psychological trauma. Thirdly, old age has a number of advantages that are a consequence of accumulated life experience. The inability to resist negative stereotypes leads to negative changes in the recently active and healthy people. Such stereotypes conflict with the objective medical and psychological status of older people: psychological studies show that most people in retirement age maintain efficiency, competence, and intellectual potential.
Intolerance towards old age is the cause of many problems both in society as a whole and in its individual age groups, including not only the elderly, but also young people. This intolerance comes in three forms:
Intolerance towards elderly and senile people on the part of the younger generation and/or society as a whole, manifested in a wide variety of forms (unjustifiably high assessment of youth and discrimination against old people).
1. Rejection of the fact of their own aging by elderly and senile people, associated with deteriorating health, “switching off” from active social and professional life, and the use of unproductive strategies for adapting to later periods life.
2. Rejection of the fact of their future aging by young and middle-aged people. Many young people find the prospect of aging so bleak that they would rather not know anything about it. Such an attitude towards the inevitably approaching period of life gives rise to a lot of problems and significantly reduces the quality of life in old age. (The ways in which such stereotypes of attitudes towards old age are spread and taken root can sometimes be the most unexpected - for example, studies of illustrations for children’s books conducted by Professor Z. Eitner in the GDR found thatFor many years, the same pictures have been wandering from one book to another, depicting old men and old women, whose faces reflect the severity of the years they have lived, grief, and detachment from the world around them).
Thus, developing the right attitude towards one’s age and upcoming changes, a sober assessment of them, is one of important tasks in achieving what is called active longevity, i.e. not just a long life, but a rich, fulfilling, interesting and useful life for yourself and others - what is called “quality of life”. In this regard, I would like to remind you that the World Health Organization defines health not only as the absence of disease, not only as physical well-being, but also as mental and social well-being.
The ability to see, along with negative changes, ways of adapting to them (and, if possible, overcoming them), as well as positive aspects, advantages given by one’s age, the ability to use these advantages is a means of self-defense, self-help for every elderly person.
In this regard, modern researchers distinguish between constructive and non-constructive types of strategy towards aging. What are the signs of a constructive attitude towards aging that allows you to cope with the negative aspects of aging and preserve yourself as a fully functioning person? Summarizing the views of several authors, these include the following:
– searching for new ways of inclusion in public life, useful and interesting use of free time that appears with retirement,
– understanding and sharing one’s own life and professional experience (raising children and grandchildren, teaching, writing memoirs, mentoring in the professional field);
– acceptance of the life lived, understanding it;
– maintaining old and establishing new friendships;
– a calm and rational attitude towards your new position;
– accepting your new age and discovering new meaning in it;
– understanding and tolerance towards other people.
The attitude towards one’s own aging is an active element of mental life, a position that a person chooses himself. According to domestic gerontologists, neither good health, nor maintaining an active lifestyle, nor high social status, nor the presence of a spouse and children are not a guarantee or guarantee of understanding old age as a favorable period of life. In the presence of these signs, each individually and taken together, an elderly person may consider himself defective and completely reject his aging. And vice versa, in case of bad physical health, modest material wealth, loneliness, an elderly person may be in agreement with his aging and will be able to see positive sides of his old age, experiencing the joy of every day he lives. Acceptance of one's own old age is the result of active creative work on rethinking life attitudes and positions, reassessing life values. Significance active position proven by studies of centenarians - they tend to perceive everything that happens in their lives as the result of their own actions, and not the actions of some external forces.
The influence of socially determined stereotypes on behavior and psychological state (and, consequently, in many respects emotional condition and well-being) of an elderly person is often underestimated. Meanwhile, there is a lot of evidence of such an influence.
Thus, one of the reasons for the shorter life expectancy of men compared to women is considered to be the stronger influence on them of negative stereotypical ideas about old age and traditional male and female roles in society.
Adherence to stereotypical behavior patterns does not contribute to the development of new behavioral tactics in everyday life. Women adapt more easily than men to a new life situation after retirement, since narrowing their scope of activity and focusing primarily on housework is accompanied by less discomfort for them. This trend is typical for women in different countries (Eissensen I., 1989).
Everyone knows that if a person in a hypnotic state is told not his true age, but a younger one (up to early childhood), then he will behave as if he were actually younger. Experiments of this kind are, for obvious reasons, rare and short-lived. But, as it turned out, it is not at all necessary to use hypnosis to achieve such an effect.
In 1979, psychologist E. Langer and her colleagues at Harvard conducted an interesting experiment. Subjects aged 75 years and older (up to 80 years) were placed on a week-long holiday in a country cottage. At the same time, one strange restriction was introduced: they were not allowed to take with them newspapers, magazines, books and family photographs dating back to the time after 1959. The cottage was equipped in full accordance with the fashion and traditions of 20 years ago. Instead of magazines from 1979, issues from 1959 were on the tables. Musical recordings were also only from that time. The subjects were asked to behave exactly as they did 20 years ago. The members of this group wrote their autobiographies only until 1959, describing that time as the present. All conversations had to relate to the events and people of those years. Every detail of their outdoor life was designed to make them feel as if they were in their early 50s, while the E.Langer team assessed the biological age of the subjects: physical strength, posture, perceptual speed, cognitive ability and memory were determined. state of vision, hearing, ability to sense taste. The results of the experiment were remarkable. Compared to another group, which also lived in a cottage, but in real time conditions, this group showed a significant improvement in memory and increased manual dexterity. People became more active and independent, they behaved more like 55-year-olds than like old people, although before that many used the services of younger family members.
But the most noticeable reverse developments were those changes that were previously considered irreversible. Unbiased outside judges, who were asked to compare the subjects' looks before and after the experiment, determined that their faces looked decidedly younger. Measuring the length of the fingers, which usually shortens with age, showed that the fingers had lengthened. The joints became more flexible, and the posture began to improve. According to the strength meter, muscle strength increased; additional studies revealed sharpening of vision and hearing, and improvement in IQ test scores.
Professor E. Langer proved that the so-called irreversible changes in old age can be eliminated with psychological intervention. Our bodies are subject to subjective time, determined by memories and internal sensations. Scientists made these people internal time travelers who psychologically traveled back 20 years and their bodies followed them. Self-hypnosis worked.
A powerful factor influencing a person’s psycho-emotional state (and, therefore, his physical well-being) is the system of social relationships. Research shows that this factor can often influence the course of even serious illnesses organic nature. Thus, doctors from Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, USA) have proven that regular communication with close friends and relatives protects against manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's disease, according to leading experts and in accordance with the official point of view of expert groups of such authoritative institutions as the World Health Organization or the US National Institute of Aging, is currently considered one of the most frequent illnesses in elderly and old age and is comparable in prevalence to cardiac and cerebral infarctions among the elderly population (K.F. Jellinger et al., 1994). Due to the high frequency and particular severity of the medical and socio-economic consequences of this extremely severe suffering, which destroys not only the intellect, but also all aspects of mental activity and the very personality of patients, Alzheimer's disease is recognized as one of the main medical and socio-economic problems of the modern civilized world. According to leading experts, the social burden of problems associated with Alzheimer's disease will continue to increase steadily as the population ages and the proportion and absolute number of elderly people in society increases.
They observed elderly volunteers who did not suffer from dementia. 89 of them had their brains examined after death. The brains of many of the deceased showed clear signs of Alzheimer's disease, but during their lifetime they did not have any manifestations of dementia or deterioration of mental abilities. Scientists have determined that these people were protected from the disease by their wide social circle. To determine their social circle, study participants were asked about the number of children, relatives and close friends with whom they communicate at least once a month. The wider the social circle, the less impact changes in brain tissue had on mental abilities. Moreover, the more pathological changes there were, the more clearly the protective effect was manifested. The authors of this work emphasize that frequent communication with friends and relatives is a powerful factor in helping to resist the disease.
According to P. Garb and G. Starovoytova, who studied centenarians in Abkhazia, they talk every day with relatives and closest neighbors, and meet with their friends at least once a week.
One of the reasons for the higher mortality rate among widowers than among widows is that men tend to have only one strong emotional connection (with their wife), while women have a wider circle of people who serve as support for them in life. Hard time. In the area of interpersonal relationships with loved ones, men have more difficulties than women. This is facilitated by a stable stereotype of masculinity, according to which the need for care, tenderness, and dependence are unmasculine traits. S. Jurard, who deals with the problems of self-disclosure in interpersonal relationships, noted that men are usually less frank and more reluctant to share intimate information about themselves with others, have more “secrets” and are afraid that they will find out about them, more often experience tension and, trying to look courageous, They see others as a threat to themselves more often than women. Fear of self-disclosure not only limits the freedom of older men in personal relationships, but, along with ignoring feelings, makes them more susceptible to “red flags.” This partly explains why men die earlier than women.
Another factor that positively affects the quality of life, mental and physical state of people in old age is education, regular mental activity, and the assimilation of new information. In relation to Alzheimer's disease, for example, cognitive training and therapy are considered important means in the rehabilitation of patients, maintaining the level of their daily functioning, and are also considered as one of the factors facilitating the course of the disease. Preventive actions for Alzheimer's disease, recommended by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, also include, in addition to combating obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension, also maintaining intellectual activity in old age. According to the director of the Research Institute of Gerontology, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Professor Shabalin, “intellectual activity is more significant factor to preserve the brain than physical. If a person has been engaged in intense intellectual work all his life, and after retirement he has stopped loading his brain, then his intellect will collapse much faster than that of someone who has not previously engaged in mental work.” The connection between the level of education and average life expectancy has long been established by demographers.
Writing memoirs can also be a powerful psychotherapeutic tool that can cure a person of depression, encourage him to actively select and read literature, work in archives, and meet people. The mechanisms of beneficial action of this type of activity are multifaceted:
– inclusion of a person in public life;
– distraction from thoughts about illnesses and past youth;
– a sense of one’s worth as a bearer of important and unique experience;
– stimulation of mental and cognitive activity;
– comprehension, understanding and acceptance of one’s life
Also useful for determining attitudes towards current problems May be keeping diaries.
Pets have an extremely positive effect on the mental life, emotional and physical state of a person, which was known in ancient medicine. According to modern research, having a dog, for example, is much more effective and safer for weight loss than many weight loss diets. Cats are considered effective for lowering blood pressure, treating depression, etc. Older people who own a dog visit doctors 21% less often than their counterparts who don't. shaggy friend. Hypertensive patients who communicate with animals for at least 10 minutes a day practically get rid of, if not the disease, then at least from hypertensive crises. Pets help people cope with death loved one- father, mother, wife or husband (in the latter case, the company of cats is especially useful, preferably several). Cats and dogs reduce mortality from myocardial infarction by 3 percent. And even HIV-infected people cope with their problems in the presence of animals. psychological problems much better.
Famous psychotherapist M.E. Burno describes as a method of psychotherapy “therapy through creative communication with nature,” including communication with pets. As mechanisms of such therapy, he describes aesthetic experiences (the beauty and appropriateness of the structure of the animal’s body, its movements), and the animal’s ability to sense the emotional state of the owner and respond to it, and the need to care for the animal, which, on the one hand, increases the owner’s self-esteem, on the other hand, it disciplines him.
All these methods, of course, can be used not only in psychotherapy, but also as effective psychoprophylaxis, increasing the quality of life of the elderly, helping them maintain creative activity and, ultimately, longevity
A – acupressure
AG – arterial hypertension
BP - blood pressure
AT – auto-training
Dietary supplements – biologically active additives
WHO – World Health Organization
DBP – diastolic blood pressure
IHD – coronary heart disease
BMI – body mass index
DF – dietary fiber
RA – rheumatoid arthritis
SBP - systolic blood pressure
ESR – erythrocyte sedimentation rate
HR – heart rate
Introduction
Word " psychosomatics" unites in its meaning soul and body (from Greek. psyche– soul and some- body).
Psychosomatics studies the influence of a person’s thoughts on his body, the role of mental factors in the etiology and pathogenesis of functional and organic disorders human organs. Unremovable conflict, unsolvable problems cause psychosomatic diseases – peptic ulcer, arterial hypertension, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis, diabetes etc. By eliminating emotional conflict, somatic disease is cured, as the great Russian clinicians M. Ya. Mudrov, G. A. Zakharyin, S. P. Botkin pointed out.
However, almost all diseases, except those whose occurrence is associated with infectious or toxic effects, are psychosomatic, since the psyche largely determines their course and outcome. When painful problems appear, their echoes are exacerbations of chronic diseases - allergies, focal infections in the nasopharynx, gastrointestinal system.
Our body only adapts to our mood and thoughts; if necessary, it begins to signal the occurrence of pain and discomfort. Health and “garbage in the head” in the form of grievances are not compatible.
It is the positive impact on the psyche that helps you live, maintaining interest in life, and actively participate in it, helping those who are having a hard time. Using all the possibilities of a positive influence on the psyche, we can slow down aging and avoid diseases caused by mental disorders.
Alzheimer's disease, with progressive memory decay and focal cortical disorders, is caused by the inability to face life and accept the world as it is. This in turn causes hopelessness and helplessness.
The English mathematician Benjamin Gompertz theoretically determined that a person should live up to 100–110 years. Meanwhile, the highest average life expectancy is now in Sweden - 74.2 years, and the lowest in Guinea - 27 years.
Life expectancy is greatly influenced by our environment, our habits and inclinations. It all depends on the person himself - what lifestyle he leads, how he eats, how he takes care of himself. The lifespan of animals is 5 times longer than their maturation period. Since a person is formed by the age of 20–25, he should live up to 100–125 years.
The number of people on the globe is increasing. By 2025 there will be 5 times more of them than there were in 1950. In 2025 there will be significantly more people over 60 years of age! And a person must not only live, but also be socially active, needed by others, not be deprived of attention and care, and this is only possible when he loves people and does a lot for them. After all, the world is a mirror. As Honore de Balzac wrote: “You smile at the mirror, and it will smile at you!”
"The most important discovery a modern person is the ability to rejuvenate himself physically, mentally and spiritually,” wrote Paul Bragg. A person’s mental state actively influences his health. Hans Selye wrote: “The body responds to influences of all kinds - cold, fatigue, fast running, fear, pain - with stress, a similar physiological process, stimulating the release of hormones from the adrenal cortex. By this, he mobilizes himself entirely for self-defense, for adapting to a new situation, for adapting to it. Stress is a difficult test for the body. But without stress, life is dead; the body would not be able to adapt to it.”
There are negative and positive stress. The occurrence of negative stress is caused by fear, rude words, impolite treatment, and unfair remarks. Adaptive forces are great, and minor deviations that occur under the influence of stress are reversible. However, if nervous tension is prolonged, so-called adaptation diseases develop - hypertension, stomach ulcers, bronchial asthma and etc.
Best for relieving nervous tension exercise stress and creating a good mood.
The ancient Tajik doctor Avicenna said: “There are three of us: you, me and the disease. If you enter into an alliance with me, the two of us will overcome the disease. If you team up with the disease, I won’t be able to defeat you both.”
The role of the psyche in feeling good, in the possibility of getting rid of diseases confirms the placebo effect (pacifiers). Placebos taken under the guise of drugs sometimes cause recovery faster and more completely than real drugs, but on condition that patients must be sure that they are taking real medicine. Recovery depends 85% on the patient himself, and 15% on the doctor. The placebo effect is also due to self-hypnosis, which triggers the necessary reactions of the body. The placebo effect and suggestion can also explain the work of traditional healers (psychics, sorcerers, healers), when “diplomas” from unprecedented universities hung on the wall and recommendations from friends play a decisive role in the patient’s recovery.
Chapter 1
Life program
Each organism contains a program for the development of life, recovery in case of damage, as well as a program for the curtailment of life and dying. Deep confidence in one’s premature death turns off the “life program.” Conversely, a deep conviction in the possibility of recovery supports the “life program.” When the patient has a firm belief that he feels better, the disease recedes, the patient (suffering) is freed from fear and despair. There comes relief, and after a while there is a period of subsidence of pain processes. Self-healing mechanisms inherent to every living creature are activated. We know many examples that even incurable diseases recede.
Life is shortened by fear, sadness, despondency, melancholy, cowardice, envy, and hatred. Academician V.N. Shabalin provides data that in most cases, evil people live shorter lives. The intensity of all metabolic processes is higher in them, and they “burn out” faster.
I. P. Pavlov advised: “Don’t let pride take over you. Because of it, you will persist where you need to agree. Because of it, you will refuse useful advice and friendly assistance. Because of it, you will lose a measure of objectivity.” Self-confidence and arrogance are very dangerous for a person, because a person can never know everything. One is better at writing books, another at driving ships, the third at covering the roof.
L.N. Tolstoy wrote: “The essence of a person is equal to a fraction. The numerator is what he is, and the denominator is what he thinks about himself. The larger the denominator, the less important the person is.”
Elbert Hubbard aptly said, “Three habits that will give you any thing in the world you want. This is a habit of work, a habit of being healthy, a habit of learning.”
Voltaire wrote: “Work relieves us of three great evils: boredom, vice, want.” Paul Bragg also emphasized the importance of labor and work: “To enjoy endless health, you must work.”
To become lucky, we must form our own positions. No matter what happens to us, the reason is always in ourselves.
You need to choose one of all desires and achieve it. It is important to do something that you are good at and give up something that is unusual for you. Don't try to be a musician if you don't have hearing. Trust your intuition more. If intuition tells you to turn left, but logic says that there is nothing to do there, then it is better to listen to your intuition. The main thing is not to wait, but to act, then higher powers will connect and help you achieve your goal.
