Changes In Late Adulthood

At the age of 65 years old, people enter the stage of life known as Late Adulthood. Often, families find it hard to believe that they have entered this stage, as this stage ends at death. For example, my wonderful grandmother who recently has just turned 68, has been in late adulthood for 3 years. She still does way more than the average teenager, like gardening, working on the farm, and she can even still do cartwheels! However, she knows that this is her last stage and that it is important for her to remain as happy and as comfortable as possible as she goes through all of the changes that this stage will hold. She will go through a number of physical, psychological, and social changes.
In the U.S., almost 16.5 people will be in late adulthood
There are a few changes though that will occur naturally. The skin will loosen and the person will lose adipose tissue, which will cause wrinkles. This will also cause the blood vessels in that person's skin to become a little more visible and appear like they are closer to the outside. Of course, their hair will grey, fat will collect under their chin and around other parts of their body, like the abdomen. They will also go through some loss of eyesight and can develop a loss of hearing. These changes happen because aging does affect each body system, no matter what lifestyle the person has had. Some of these systems include the reproductive, integumentary, cardiovascular, renal, and as well as some of our special senses, like touch, taste, hearing, sight, smell, and other senses like balance and pain. The changes that the person could control by having a healthier lifestyle during the past stages include disese related changes and organ failure. For example, if a person smokes all of their life, there's a pretty good chance that they will have some type of lung disorder, or even have respiratory failure. Other examples include obesity and pre-existing complications from diseases that were not handled, like diabetes mellitus. (All Psychology Careers) There was a study conducted by Veteran's Affairs Medical Center that showed that as a person ages, they will lose some matter of their brain. However, it is hard to tell if this study was completely correct due to the lack of background knowledge on the patients that they observed.