Today the average duration of human life in the United States is just about 80 years for women and about 75 for men. Conservative experts believe that our bodies are really build to last about 100 years; and that medial advances and more healthful living habits could bring this about within a generation or two.
What good is it though to add years to life if we do not also add quality of life to those years we gained? In fact, unless people learn to enjoy life and to grow old gracefully, the extra years may turn out an additional burden rather than an additional gain.

From 18 to 30 years is roughly the period of highest physical and mental vigor. The experiences we accumulate from the day we are born help us to conserve and to use our physical and mental abilities more wisely, so that for some time after 30 years we are able to perform increasingly well in spite of slowly slipping vigor. After age 50 the increasing accumulation of experience is no longer able to offset the now more rapidly declining energy and therefore aging begins to assert itself noticeably and in many different ways. Not every human being ages at the same speed or notices the same “symptoms” of aging. The individual aging-process is as much dependent on your genetics, your overall state of health and your own attitude towards it.

Here are a number of things that may come about gradually as you grow older:

• People who have not used eyeglasses before may at some time in their forties need them for reading, and in the fifties they usually need bifocals.
  
  
• At a higher age, people are likely to put on weight because there is a general slowdown in the oxidation rate of the aging body tissue and because they tend to do less strenuous work with no reduction in the amount of food consumed.
  
  
• In the fifties, some loss of hearing is likely to be noticed. Usually the high-pitched tones go first, so words with the sounds of F, S, and TH get confused. A hearing aid may be needed in some cases. You may also find it difficult to follow conversations that take place in a group of people. If you are experiencing loss of hearing, it can be increasingly difficult to distinguish between what had been said by an individual participant of the conversation. If more people speak at the same time, the words can sound rather “blurry” and unclear. More often than not, individually adjusted hearing-aids can improve the situation greatly.
  
  
• Aging is generally accompanied by a loss in physical and mental flexibility. This is noticed in a tendency to become stiff in the joints; in slower comeback after a strenuous trip, excessive "night life," or hard work; in slower healing of wounds, sore muscles, and strains or in a slower recovery after an illness and sometimes in greater difficulty to adjust to new people, new places, and new ideas.
  
  
• Men, especially, will notice loss of muscular strength. There will be increased unsteadiness and delicate muscle movements will be more clumsy and the stride in waking will become shorter. The conclusion now is that the performance and ability of the elderly has long been underestimated and can be greatly improved by a proper diet, sleep and exercise along with rest and relaxation.
  
  
• Many elderly people tend to lose their joy and will to live and chronic worriers may mope around and withdraw. Medical authorities now say that laughter is one of the best medicines for the elderly. You can always keep your sense of humor tuned up by surrounding yourself with pleasant and interesting people. Just act your age and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself even when no else is around.
  

Now that we all know the role that physical activity plays in our lives, remember to do something physical every day. The joints must be used or quite simply they will tighten with age creating that stooped worn out appearance we so often associate with getting old. Keep yourself flexible and fit on an exercise program consistent with your ability.