Summary: The Benefits Of Aging

Aging is an inevitable process where we as living beings grow old. Aging has some benefits and may bring some problems too. There is a great variety of researches done with different purposes which provide us with some information and statistics.

As we grow old we learn numerous different things. Laura Carstensen, a professor of psychology at Stanford University published a study where she showed older people tend to be happier. In her TED presentation titled “Older People Are Happier”, Carstensen shows research that demonstrates that as people get older they become happier, more content, and have a more positive outlook on the world. Carstensen also mentions in her presentation that in her experiment she showed some happy and distressing photos to young and older volunteers. The brains of older subjects reacted much more strongly to positive photos and conveniently were unable to remember having seen some of the distressing pictures (Carstensen 2011). Carstensen mentions as we grow older our brains tend to keep good-memories and ignore bad ones.

Another great benefit of living for many years is all the experience that came with them. When someone has past their fifties or sixties they no longer have a life full of drama like most of

teenagers and young adults do. Ulrich Orth claims, “The older we get the more negativity diminishes and the higher our self-esteem climbs” (Orth 2010). According to Orth when people grow older their priorities become clearer. Orth also mention higher levels of self-appreciation and acceptance.
Even though growing old have some benefits, our health will not be the same as when we were young.

Many issues, both genetic and environmental, affect how we age. A 2014 Census Bureau report, “65+ in the United States: 2010,” present some statistics regarding people over 65 years old in the United States. Laura Skarnulis publishes her study titled “7 Health Challenges Of Aging” where she explains seven of the most common heath issues senior citizens face. Obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis and cancer are among the most common challenges senior citizens have to face. Skarnulis mentions that we should take care of ourselves while we are young. Some of these health issues can be prevented if the respective precautions are taken on

time.
Finally, and interview conducted by myself showed me similar results. When I asked about benefits of aging, the answers people provided me were related to experience gained and food discounts. They also agreed that the result of those years playing and taking their bodies to their limit certainly has something to do with their pains and aches nowadays. Even though they were aware of their health not being at its best, it was clear they still focus on the positive side of life and maintain an optimistic way of living.