Growing Old at Work

HEALTH - I think men and women approach aging differently.

#1. When women worry about their age they do two things: Lie about their age and try to cover up their wrinkles using cosmetics. Some even go for more extreme measures like botox or surgery.

#2. When men worry about their age they think in terms of exercise and diet... but ultimately many men take a fatalistic approach and say "Bah, I'm still in good shape."

I think there is a lot of people who do that. They kind of lie about their level of fitness and try to ignore the fact that their body is starting to fall apart at the seams. Once their eyesight, hearing, etc. starts to go the next thing you know they've got no teeth and their bowels flush whenever they hear running water.

Comparatively few can actually say "I'm still in pretty good shape." Its reminds me of that scene in "Never Say Never Again" (with Sean Connery as James Bond)... check out the video below.



The difference of course is that James Bond does exercise (as shown by the weightlifting in the video above, an excellent way of staying young and fit), but his constant drinking and smoking have left him with a liver that will likely be what finally kills him.

Meanwhile the pharmaceutical industry is working overtime trying to make a variety of pills that will help keep people younger, utilizing everything from bat DNA (bats are very long lived for their size) to human growth hormone. In the meantime there are plenty of other ways to stay young and active.

Diet wise red wine is one of the big names and its been proven to work wonders. Any wine blog will tell its the red skin from fruits (not just grapes) that helps. The red skin of apples, ripe mangoes, tomatoes, red pears, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, etc. protect the fruit from the sun's harmful rays and contain nutrients that will also help protect your skin as you grow older. That and its just plain good nutrition to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, especially the older you get.

Another problem with growing old is many people don't seem to keep their mind active (television apparently is not good for the brain BTW because its not interactive). Some elderly people can't handle simple tasks like programming a DVD player (or worse, a VCR), using a microwave or an office phone system. Its one of the reasons many old age homes are now stocking Wii games in an effort to get the elderly more active but also simultaneously using their brains so they don't collect dust and fall to bits.

A lot of scientific studies have been done in recent years that prove people who exercise both their bodies and their brains tend to live longer and have a significantly better standard of life in their old age.

At my gym for example there is this elderly woman who looks like she is in her 90s, but she's in there doing aerobics and lifting weights 7 days a week. I see her there EVERY time. She's in better shape than most teenagers.

Part of the problem I think is retirement. Lets say you're a business consultant for 40 years and the day after you turn 65 you retire. What do you do with all your free time? Do you keep reading the financial news or let it pass you by? DO you remember to keep visiting your local Toronto dentist or do you forget you have teeth entirely? Do you keep active, take tennis and golf lessons? Maybe take up sculpture, painting or photography?

Lets take photography as an example. Sure you could take photos of family members, your dog that is as old as you are (in dog years at least), your 20+ cats and the local landscapes... or you could become more artistic about it, submit your art to Canadian art galleries or even to photo contests like Lenzr which recently changed their voting structure rules so now users can vote for whomever they want to win (its essentially a popularity contest now).

Some people when they retire just seem to watch TV, visit their relatives and go for the occasionally walk. They don't want to go outside because its cold out so they stay inside and vegetate in front of the TV, their brains and bodies slowly wasting away... which might explain why so many elderly people move to Florida, because they can enjoy the weather more.

And while I do think men and women approach aging differently, we do share a commonality in that we all think we're going to live forever... right up until the point we are confronted with our own mortality. Those of us who are scared of dying tend to become religious, worried that they'll just cease to exist after they die (which is what most atheists believe). Frankly I don't mind the whole ceasing to exist thing, just so long as I leave the planet having contributed something towards making it better.

Maybe thats what more old people should do with all their free time: Become environmentalists. Heck, old people vote more than any other age group. They're a huge voting bloc and could force lots of changes if they really put their minds to it. Its time for the elderly to stop pissing away their lives and being complacent when they could actually do something that will make a difference for everyone.

Plus they could exercise and use their brains at the same time. Protesting is a workout for the brain and the body.