Aging and Maintaining Quality of Life

Aging is a natural process that all human beings go through, it is inevitable and responds to a series of biological and psychological factors that cause gradual changes in our body. This phenomenon is particular to each human being, all people age, but not all do it in the same way. Aging is not only a chronological process, age also responds to certain characteristics that determine the level of physical and mental health of each individual, which is why, although at certain ages a person is considered to be in old age, we must pay attention to other patterns to classify the type of old age referred to.

During the development of this guide we will be addressing some of the elements that distinguish aging, emphasizing the different ages that are taken as a reference when assessing the degree of old age that an individual presents.

Chronological factor

When we take the chronological factor as a reference to determine the degree of old age that a person presents, we are referring to the chronological age. This age is the one most commonly used from the social, not the scientific or academic, point of view. This age is expressed in years, so if 65 years have passed since the person was born, he/she is considered an old person or senior citizen.

Age, based on chronological aspects, is very inaccurate, does not respond to scientific patterns, nor is it expressed with equal results in each individual. That is why we commonly know the age of certain people and we are amazed, since they seem younger or older.

Biological factor

The biological factor involved in determining the age of an individual is much more accurate than the chronological one. When we appreciate the biological characteristics of a person we can establish a series of criteria that allow us to arrive at the approximate age that the subject should present, this biological age is determined by the lifestyle that has been sustained over the years, healthy habits, the quality of food and diseases present.

At this point, we can find people who present a chronological age of 65 years, but their biological age is much lower than 65. Similarly, a 40 year old subject may present certain characteristics that make him/her be perceived as a 65 year old. The biological factor tells us that each individual ages at his or her own pace and that the way we behave in our youth will contribute significantly to slowing down or accelerating our aging process.

Psychological factor

Depending on whether we wish to distinguish between mental health and psychological health, we must deal with a possible third age, the psychological age. For many specialists, health is one, so that such a psychological age would not exist. However, in order to illustrate what this third age consists of, let us take psychological factors as a reference when classifying the degree of aging that an individual presents.

In the same way that non-psychological illnesses influence the appreciation of a person's age, the state of mental health of an individual and the mentality or projection that he or she presents does not provide a whole host of information about his or her approximate age. By maintaining a proper combination of physical and mental health care, we can slow the aging process and move away from chronological patterns that seek to generalize the degree of old age in each individual.