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Age In Rewind: Aging In Slow Motion
Age In Rewind: Aging In Slow Motion
Age In Rewind: Aging In Slow Motion
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Age In Rewind: Aging In Slow Motion

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Over the years, many individuals have searched for the elusive Fountain of Youth; while some claim to have discovered it, for the vast majority, it still remains a well-kept secret. Although significant progress has been achieved in understanding how to age healthily and extend longevity, more work has to be done. Despite your best efforts, most individuals are aware that there is no panacea for long life and excellent health. To maintain your health as you age, you need dedication, hard work, and occasionally even self-denial. Giving up unhealthy eating practices, a couch potato lifestyle, and the frantic schedules to which so many people are used is necessary to achieve this. The principles of fantastic living, which are also the basics of appropriately aging, might be neglected in favor of maintaining external appearances. But you can't just ignore the fundamentals. In life, maintaining equilibrium is crucial, and good aging is no exception. The consequences of skipping necessary healthcare can be just as costly and dangerous as neglecting your car's regular maintenance. You can credit the baby boomer generation, the oldest of whom are now entering their 60s, for today's emphasis on youthful, healthy aging. Healthy aging is currently a trendy issue. This chapter examines the causes of people living longer and better lives today than they did in the past, as well as the factors that affected life expectancy 100 years ago and current factors that affect our health and longevity.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherSusan Zeppieri
Release dateOct 11, 2022
ISBN9798215812051

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    Age In Rewind - Susan Zeppieri

    Table of Contents

    Chapter 1 ............................................................................. 7

    The Fountain of Youth, at Your Fingertips ........................ 7

    Chapter 2 ........................................................................... 17

    Endocrine System and Ageing .......................................... 17

    Chapter 3: .......................................................................... 30

    Troubles of aging .............................................................. 30

    Breast cancer ............................................................... 36

    Prostate cancer ............................................................ 41

    •  Ninety-nine percent of people live for at least five

    years. ............................................................................. 43

    •  Ninety-two percent of people live for at least ten

    years. ............................................................................. 43

    •  Sixty-one percent live for at least 15 years. ........... 43

    Colorectal cancer ......................................................... 43

    Other Health Problems associated with Aging ............. 45

    Chapter 4 ........................................................................... 48

    Sexual Health is Important................................................ 48

    ....................................................................................... 48

    Age-associated changes in women ............................. 52

    Chapter 5 ........................................................................... 54

    Your Skin Matters ............................................................. 54

    Reducing Wrinkles: Improving Your Skin's Look .. 65

    Reducing Wrinkles Through Exfoliating .................. 66

    Fighting Depression to Avoid Wrinkles and Disease 79

    Chapter 6 ......................................................................... 85 Care for Your Hair ............................................................ 85

    Chapter 7 ........................................................................... 90

    How to overcome Aging ................................................... 90

    ....................................................................................... 90

    Maintaining a Healthy Weight and Fitness Level .... 90

    The most effective lifestyle choices and habits that

    will help you age gracefully ...................................... 101 Chapter 8 ......................................................................... 106

    The right Diets for Anti-Aging ....................................... 106

    Gathering near the good fats .................................... 116

    Saying no to the bad fats ........................................... 117

    Positive Nutritional Habits for Healthy Living ...... 119

    Deciding what to drink ............................................. 122

    Using Nutrition to Extend Your Expiration Date .. 126

    Maintaining a Healthy Weight and Fitness Level .. 127

    The Tolls of Extra Weight ........................................ 129

    Assessing Your Current Level of Health ................ 131

    The most effective lifestyle choices and habits that

    will help you age gracefully ...................................... 137 Chapter 10 ....................................................................... 143

    Supplementing Your Daily Diet ..................................... 143

    Chapter 10 ....................................................................... 149

    Intermittent Fasting ......................................................... 149

    Chapter 11 ....................................................................... 155

    Best Anti-Aging Foods .................................................. 155

    Chapter 12 ..................................................................... 161 Importance of Vitamins in Anti Aging ........................... 161

    A brief history of vitamins ........................................ 161

    Vitamins and aging ................................................... 162

    Antioxidant vitamins ................................................. 164

    Other essential vitamins............................................ 165

    Epidemiological associations .................................... 169

    Chapter 13 ....................................................................... 174

    Find Time for Pilates Now .............................................. 174

    ANTI-AGING PILATES WORKOUTS ................. 177

    Chapter 14 ....................................................................... 179

    Managing Pain and Aging Well ................................... 179

    Chapter 15 ....................................................................... 182

    Anti-aging ....................................................................... 182

    Signs of Ageing .......................................................... 182

    Aging or Alzheimer's: ............................................... 185

    A Challenge to Organize Or Solve Issues: .............. 186

    Can I Still Do Anything? .......................................... 187

    Chapter 16 ....................................................................... 189

    Caring for Your Face ...................................................... 189

    Your Mouth, from Cradle to Golden Years ........... 189

    Open Wide! What You Need to Know about Oral

    Health ......................................................................... 190

    Outlining the top two oral health concerns ............. 191

    Risk factors for oral cancer ...................................... 195 Chapter 17 ....................................................................... 204 Taking Care of Your Ears ............................................... 204

    Cleaning Out Your Ears ........................................... 204

    A closer look at the causes of hearing loss .............. 204

    Examining and Preventing Age-Related Eye

    Conditions .................................................................. 207

    Chapter 18 ....................................................................... 213

    Taking Care of Your Bones ......................................... 213

    Examining Your Bones’ Biggest Role ..................... 213

    Vitally important vitamins and minerals ................ 213

    Organs and hormones that maintain the body’s

    calcium balance ......................................................... 215 Maintaining Healthy Bones ...................................... 220

    Treating Osteoporosis ............................................... 223

    Maintaining the Parts that Join Your Bones .......... 224

    Maintaining joint flexibility (or making them that

    way) ............................................................................. 226

    Coping with Joint Pain and Arthritis ...................... 227

    Fighting arthritis in other ways ............................... 229

    Combating an Aching Back ...................................... 231

    Chapter 19 ....................................................................... 233

    Taking Care of Your Heart ............................................. 233

    Understanding the Anatomy of the Heart............... 233

    The Value of Aerobic Exercise and Heart-Healthy

    Eating.......................................................................... 235

    Chapter 20 ....................................................................... 245

    Taking Care of Your Muscles ......................................... 245 The Importance of Muscle Maintenance and

    Strengthening ............................................................. 245

    How exercise can help ............................................... 248

    Chapter 21 ....................................................................... 258

    Keeping Your Mind and Memory in Tip-Top Shape ..... 258

    First Things First: Basic Brain Anatomy .................... 259

    The midbrain, which stimulates the senses ............. 261

    A Microscopic Look at the Aging Brain.................. 264

    Assessing your vulnerability to brain disorders ..... 273

    Keeping Your Brain Young ...................................... 276

    Improving Your Memory ......................................... 278

    Figuring out a memory trick .................................... 280

    Chapter 22 ....................................................................... 281

    The Infinite Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep .......... 281

    Why Getting Enough Sleep Is Important for Your

    Health ......................................................................... 282

    Understanding Your Biological Clock: The Circadian

    Rhythm ....................................................................... 288

    Chapter 23 ....................................................................... 302

    The Keys to Maintaining Health and Vitality ............ 302

    The Value of a Positive Mentality ............................ 302

    Developing Relationships: The Value of Support .. 310

    Love relationships: How you mature with or without

    them ............................................................................ 311

    Conclusion ...................................................................... 313

    Chapter 1 

    The Fountain of Youth, at Your Fingertips

    Over the years, many individuals have searched for the elusive Fountain of Youth; while some claim to have discovered it, for the vast majority, it still remains a well-kept secret. Although significant progress has been achieved in understanding how to age healthily and extend longevity, more work has to be done. Despite your best efforts, most individuals are aware that there is no panacea for long life and excellent health. To maintain your health as you age, you need dedication, hard work, and occasionally even self-denial. Giving up unhealthy eating practices, a couch potato lifestyle, and the frantic schedules to which so many people are used is necessary to achieve this. The principles of fantastic living, which are also the basics of appropriately aging, might be neglected in favor of maintaining external appearances. But you can't just ignore the fundamentals. In life, maintaining equilibrium is crucial, and good aging is no exception. The consequences of skipping necessary healthcare can be just as costly and dangerous as neglecting your car's regular maintenance. You can credit the baby boomer generation, the oldest of whom are now entering their 60s, for today's emphasis on youthful, healthy aging. Healthy aging is currently a trendy issue. This chapter examines the causes of people living longer and better lives today than they did in the past, as well as the factors that affected life expectancy 100 years ago and current factors that affect our health and longevity.

    Life Expectancy in the 21st Century 

    The way people live and the diseases they are susceptible to have changed dramatically during the past 100 years. In industrialized nations, the diseases of the past are no longer a problem, and life expectancy has soared. But despite the fact that people are living longer now, this greater life expectancy also carries with it a whole new set of issues and answers. People today take it for granted that they will live to adulthood when in the past, people were well informed of the unforeseen risks to their lives. It is possible to alter certain harmful health risks in today’s world by altering one's lifestyle. Taking wise decisions is the key to healthy-aging and is a recurring theme in this book. To better comprehend why some individuals live longer today, it is important to first analyze why people did not survive as long more than a century ago. The distinctions are highlighted in this section.

    That was then

    War, infant mortality, acute illnesses, malnutrition, and acute illnesses were the main causes of reduced life expectancy 100 years ago. Over 400 million people worldwide contracted the influenza virus (also known as the flu) between 1918 and 1919, and almost 40 million died as a result. Although there are some flu-related deaths today, they are not nearly as numerous as they formerly were. Other significant causes of death included poor hygienic standards and housing situations. People's health deteriorates over time as a result of each incidence. Even non-fatal illnesses increased the risk of developing chronic illnesses as people aged and decreased expectation of life.

    A individual living 100 years ago had a very limited statistical chance of escaping life uninjured. In those days, the following problems contributed to widespread illness and high death rates:

    crowded, unhealthy circumstances for habitation: Numerous cases of dysentery, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid fever, as well as the flu were caused by these circumstances. Survivors frequently experienced long-term health effects.

    War: Death was directly brought on by war, and soldiers were also exposed to foreign illnesses. Between 1861 and 1865, more people died from diseases related to ill health than from battle wounds during the American Civil War. At the beginning of the 20th Century, war and disease claimed the lives of more than 200m people.

    infections caused by bacteria and viruses for which there are no cures or vaccinations: Numerous adults and kids died as a result of viruses and bacterial illnesses. Between the Asian Flu of 1957 and the Spanish Flu of 1918, which claimed the lives of more than 50 million individuals, there have been numerous pandemics (affecting a sizable population, even the entire planet). Before the invention of vaccines, smallpox, polio, measles, and diphtheria, killed numerous adults as well as children and continue to do so in third-world nations.

    hazardous working conditions and physically demanding work: People began working 10- to 12-hour hours as early as age 13, exposed to harmful gases and pathogens, and with only basic safety gear. When unions were established and other safety regulations were put in place, the number of work-related deaths began to decline after reaching a peak of about 1900.

    Lack of certain nutrients: The malnourished the impoverished, including sailors and soldiers, suffered from a shortage of nourishment. One of these deficiencies was

    •  Pellagra: Niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency, which can cause dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia, and even death.

    •  Goiter: Goiter develops in kids whose diets are deficient in iodine, which can induce hyperthyroidism (elevated thyroid hormone). Heart issues, mental decline, and birth deformities are complications.

    •  Scurvy: Scurvy, a disorder in which the body is unable to absorb iron effectively and causes anemia, is caused by a lack of vitamin C.

    •  Rickets: This condition was brought on by a deficiency in vitamin D that is essential for the mineralization of bones. Children, suffering from rickets have malformed and incompletely developed bones, frequently with the recognizable bending of the legs. Children were more vulnerable to measles and whooping cough also. 

    This is now 

    The main health issues have changed from 100 years ago, yet there are still some global parallels. Worldwide, infectious diseases continue to be a leading cause of death, and emerging kinds of bacteria and viruses constitute a constant threat. Additionally, the overuse of antibiotics has resulted in the evolution of superbugs that are resistant to a variety of antibiotics.

    However, changes in lifestyle have led to the current occurrence of chronic and frequently preventable diseases, like heart disease, respiratory illness, cancer, stroke, and diabetes that have the highest rates of mortality today. Through earlier diagnoses, better drugs, and therapies, major medical advancements have improved the results of numerous disorders. Medical advancements have helped society overcome some serious health dangers over the years. The following is a list of the key contributors:

    Infant vaccinations: Today, immunizations are given to more than 80% of kids under the age of three. As a result, several fatal illnesses, such as polio and smallpox, are entirely under control in affluent nations, and international initiatives work to transmit this success to poor nations. In addition, immunizations that weren't available 30 years ago are now, such as those for chicken pox. For the first time, immunizations against polio were given to infants born in 1955. That element alone increased that generation's longevity substantially. More kid immunizations were added in the years that followed, including those for rubella in 1969, measles in 1963, and mumps in 1967.

    Antibiotics: Since the 1940s, antibiotics have been used to treat bacterial illnesses such as syphilis, TB, malaria, and pneumonia. The 1928 discovery of penicillin saw its first application in medicine in 1940. Fear about newly arising resistant bacteria coincided with the rate of creation of newer antibiotics after the discovery of penicillin. The necessity to limit antibiotic use to prevent the emergence of new resistant bacteria was highlighted in the 1950s by the emergence of new resistant bacteria. Due to the widespread incorrect usage of antibiotics today, scientists are concerned about the upcoming emergence of more resistant microorganisms. To help prevent the development of new resistant strains due to incorrect antibiotic use, heed your doctor's advice regarding taking antibiotics seriously.

    Medical technology: Modern medicine advances are driven by medical technology. There must be improvements in the equipment used to find and manufacture them in order to provide better drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests. Better diagnostic imaging is able to diagnose diseases in their early stages, improving outcomes. The development of technology in prosthetics, organ transplantation, and tissue healing offers hope to patients whose sickness has progressed to the point that their organs are failing. Here are a handful of the significant discoveries:

    •  Heart failure patients can be kept alive with an artificial heart until they can get a donor's heart.

    •  To help with diagnosis and treatment, computer-aided tomography (CAT) scans create three-dimensional images of the body that could show doctors whether a tumor is present and how deep it is within the body.

    •  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) facilitates for the early detection of cancer and other diseases by causing atoms to emit minute radio signals in response to magnetic fields and radio waves.

    The Basics of Pro-Aging: The Best Actions You Can Take

    While you cannot stop time from passing, you can manage some of the risk factors for illness and disease by being proactive in your life decisions. Health problems may result from taking no action or actively engaging in risk variables known to be related with chronic disease or sickness, but being proactive does not guarantee that you will not get an illness or chronic disease. You may not realize how much control, and not only in a good way, you truly have over how long you live. The greatest significant influence on your health may come from seemingly unimportant decisions you make every day. In fact, if every person in the US led a healthy lifestyle, it is estimated that the more than 50 percent of cases of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, as well as more than 50% of all cases of cancer might be avoided .You could significantly decrease your chances of getting a chronic disease by taking the decision to lead a disease-prevention lifestyle early in life. Numerous factors, some of them are controllable, such as your lifestyle choices, and the others which you cannot, such as inheritance and your age, cause chronic sickness and disease. You can prevent the risks to your health and aging that are the most harmful and preventable by following the advice below:

    Avoid smoking, and if you do, quit.

    The top 3 deaths, cancer, heart disease, and also cardiovascular conditions like strokes, are all made more likely by smoking. Additionally, it harms the rest of your respiratory system, including the lungs. As a cigarette burn, it releases the toxins ammonia, carbon monoxide, arsenic, formaldehyde, as well as cyanide. Cigarette smoke contains at least 60 compounds that are known to cause cancer. Smoking directly stimulates and lowers the flow of oxygen to the body and brain. It also presents a significant risk for other conditions like emphysema, stroke, chronic bronchitis, and osteoporosis. Smoking was responsible for four lakh and thirty five thousands deaths, or 18.1 percent of all deaths, in 2006. 

    Reduce your alcohol intake

    If you imbibe, it's safe to limit your intake to no more than two drinks for men and one or less for women every day. A normal drink is one 12 ounce bottle of beer or wine cooler, one 5 ounce glass of wine, or one and a half ounce of 80-proof distilling liquor. Since women are more prone than men to have liver damage from taking two or more beverages per day, they should keep their alcohol consumption to one drink or less per day.

    Alcohol is a depressant that can make depression and other mental health issues worse. As a result of coordination, communication, and decision-making issues brought on by alcohol consumption, dangerous actions result. Vomiting, breathing difficulties, convulsions, and even death can occur at hazardous alcohol ingestion levels. Around eight percent of adults have an alcohol use disorder, indicating the possibility of alcohol addiction. Diseases of the liver, neurological system, pancreas, and gastrointestinal system can develop as a result of addiction and chronic alcohol use. If you have an history of drinking or other drug dependency, you shouldn't drink at all. According to numerous research, drinking alcohol in this amount helps protect against cardiovascular disease. Red wine consumption may be especially advantageous since it includes specific polyphenol antioxidants linked to cardiovascular health.

    Scientists are unsure of the exact level of alcohol that might harm a fetus, but they do know that even a small amount could be extremely deadly. As a result, pregnant women should absolutely abstain from alcohol.

    Maintain a healthy, balanced diet

    The value of an age-appropriate, balanced diet cannot be overstated. A bad diet can increase your risk of developing a variety of illnesses, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and memory loss. Contrarily, eating healthy helps you feel and look better, maintains your body's optimal functioning, prevents colds and other illnesses, and helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels, which in turn helps shield you from heart disease and stroke. 

    Exercise regularly

    Obesity is a preventable yet harmful problem that threatens people's longevity over time and is a result of a sedentary lifestyle.

    And it's getting worse. As you get older, physical activity ought to be a crucial part of living healthily. You can be tempted to skip the workout as your body ages because it becomes more difficult, you experience physical difficulty, or you accept that getting less active as you age is natural. Avoid adopting this mindset!

    Exercise doesn't have to be challenging as you age; It just has to be routine. Your body functions better when you exercise frequently.

    •  Manage your stress and develop healthy coping mech anisms The hormones norepinephrine, cortisol, and epinephrine are released in response to stress, and under extreme stress, they have a protective influence on the body. However, persistent stress enables hormones to persist longer than usual and results in the production of free radicals. These pesky little creatures speed up aging even though they don't directly cause death. Look at the sidebar in the vicinity titled The high price of oxidative stress

    •  Sleep well on a constant schedule. Both medically and mentally, you require sleep. During the deepest periods of sleep, your body creates a number of hormones that are crucial for healthy functioning. The body uses this time for repair and growth. Sleep irregularity has been linked to illnesses including cardiovascular disease, clinical depression, diabetes, and other dangerous problems, as well as disorders like epilepsy and migraines.

    •  See your physician to undergo the regular screening that are advised for your age. A number of crucial exams can aid in preventing diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. While some of these tests can help diagnose diseases at an early stage, when they are most treatable, others can actually prevent diseases from ever occurring.

    If maintaining youth and vitality is so simple, why is it not practiced by all?

    Maintaining a healthy, long-lived lifestyle is not tremendously difficult. Why, then, do more people succumb to diseases that are only partially avoidable each year? In this section, we look into the factors that, in our opinion, account for the vast majority of avoidable deaths. Take note of these suggestions so you may identify any that may exist in your own life and take the necessary action to improve it—regardless of your age—both now and in the future.

    Short-sighted thinking 

    Everyone is mortal, and we are going to tell you this. Despite the fact that everyone is aware of this, very few individuals consider their own impending mortality and the things they can do to delay it. If they did, accidents of all kinds would be significantly reduced, no one would ever break their hip jumping off a scaffolding they should not have been in the first position, and tobacco sales would be much reduced. Since death can be delayed, people tend to believe that tomorrow is a suitable time to begin ambitious new workout routines, drastic food changes, and, of course, quitting drinking and smoking. For many individuals, tomorrow is a great chance to finally call and make an appointment for the yearly physical or breast examination they have been putting off for the past 5 years. Yet, a little bit of truth can go a long way in helping to create a new way of life that could genuinely save lives—at least for a few more years. Neither that you should dress in ashes and sackcloth and carry a sign that says, "The End is Coming.  

    How do you provide just the right amount of realism to motivate you to alter your behavior without making it seem pointless to do so? These suggestions could be useful:

    Take a quiz. There are websites where you may enter your health data; get an estimate of how long you will live. You could be inspired to make improvements after seeing your projected timetable in stark contrast.

    Paying focus on your feelings. The small, persistent signs that can indicate a major problem is developing are frequently neglected. Keeping a journal is one approach to being informed about your health. If you're already health-obsessed, you probably already keep note of your symptoms, so avoid doing this. Only try this if you tend to disregard symptoms like headaches, chest pain, or shortness of breath. You might notice a pattern that demands attention.

    See your doctor. When scheduling the appointment, be sure to specify that additional time is provided because this is a consultation rather than a sick visit. What can you do to improve your health? Ask him, then take action.

    Chapter 2

    Endocrine System and Aging

    The nervous system and the endocrine system collaborate to control and coordinate the actions of the body's organs and tissues. It is made up of a variety of glands spread throughout the body, with the pineal, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreatic, ovaries, and testes being the primary ones. In order to keep the body in balance (homeostasis) and to keep parameters like blood electrolytes and glucose within normal ranges, these glands release a number of chemical messages that travel through the blood called hormones.

    The pituitary gland and somatopause

    The master gland, also known as the pituitary gland, controls the functioning of numerous other endocrine glands and produces a number of important hormones. It is divided into an anterior section made of epithelial cells from the roof of the oral cavity and a posterior portion made of neural tissue extending from the hypothalamus.

    Growth hormone (somatotropin), which is secreted by the anterior pituitary, encourages the growth of muscle, bone, and the majority of the internal organs. Somatotropin is released in relatively tiny amounts during early childhood, but during adolescence, there is a considerable rise in serum somatotropin levels that coincides with puberty's growth spurts. Somatotropin secretion starts to decrease in both men and women in between the ages of 25 to 30. Although there seems to be a lot of variation between individuals, it is projected to reduce by half in men every seven years (Gentili, 2015).

    The somatopause, which is the term for the fall in somatotropin production in older life, is linked to a number of physiological changes, including the following:

    a gradual loss of lean body mass (muscle), which contributes to a decrease in metabolic rate; 

    a general decrease in protein synthesis; 

    a decrease in bone mass and density, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures;

    an increase in the deposition of adipose tissue, particularly abdominal fat (the middle-age spread);  and

    a general decrease in immune function and increased susceptibility to infection.

    People who live sedentary lives and those who already have a high body fat percentage are more likely to experience somatopause sooner. Oestrogen, on the other hand, appears to delay the start and progression of menopause in premenopausal women (Gentili, 2015).

    Though, the age-related decline in somatotropin production reflects the decline in growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) secretion by the brain. The precise causes of somatopause are still unknown. According to recent studies, growth hormone replacement therapy can undo some of the detrimental physiological changes brought on by somatotropin decline. Recombinant human growth hormone has been demonstrated in clinical trials to increase lean muscle mass retention and quality of life scores in elderly individuals (Jonas et al., 2015).

    The pineal gland and sleep disturbances

    The pineal gland gets its name from the fact that it is about the size of a pea and resembles a little pine cone. It produces the hormone melatonin from the neurotransmitter serotonin and is located in the diencephalon, in the center of the brain. The pineal gland acts as an internal body clock: during the day, when there is a lot of light, melatonin release is blocked; however, as the day ends and light levels drop, melatonin secretion rises, preparing the body for sleep.

    Even in young children, the pineal gland experiences a calcification process as we age. Melatonin levels gradually decline with age; teens have 80% more melatonin in their blood than those in their 60s. The levels of melatonin can be further decreased by some medications that are frequently provided to elderly patients, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and beta blockers.

    Reduced melatonin levels have been associated with an increase in the frequency of sleep disruptions and, in some individuals, may eventually result in geriatric insomnia (Bubenik and Konturek, 2011). Sleep issues can increase age-related brain changes because sleep is crucial for cognitive function.

    There is some proof that being exposed to bright light in the morning, whether it be natural or artificial, speeds up the onset of sleep by causing melatonin to release earlier in the evening. Similar to this, it has been demonstrated that using prolonged release melatonin for the treatment of insomnia in adults 55 and older improves the quality of life, sleep onset time, and morning alertness (Wade et al., 2007).

    Thyroid gland and metabolism

    The thyroid gland plays a significant role in regulating the metabolism and blood calcium levels. Its hormones regulate a variety of physiological processes, such as:  

    •  Maintaining skin thickness and integrity;

    •  The metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins;

    •  Digestion;

    •  Thermoregulation;

    •  Maintaining normal bone density;

    •  Muscle and nerve activity.

    Changes to metabolic rate

    Tetraiodothyronine, also known as thyroxine, and T3 (triiodothyronine), two iodine-containing hormones secreted by the thyroid, are key regulators of cellular metabolism. T4 is released in higher amounts than T3, typically at a 15:1 ratio. The more physiologically active T3, which is about three times more effective in terms of raising metabolic rate, is then quickly transformed from T4 to produce.

    Age-related declines in T4 secretion more than offset a fall in T4 clearance by the liver, keeping T4 serum levels relatively stable. However, the levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which is produced by the pituitary gland, and serum T3 clearly decline with aging (Peeters, 2008; Chahal and Drake, 2007). This could be a factor in the gradual drop in basal metabolism that many people experience as they get older (in which the decline in lean muscle

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