The Relation Between Health And Ergonomics
After the age of 50, most people realize that the party could be winding down (at least the wild partying of our younger years!)
. Our bodies and attitudes begin to mirror how we've lived from the very moment we awake in the morning. If our lifestyle has been historically lethargic, we often feel out of shape and overweight.
If we've pushed the envelope physically, we may feel soreness and stiffness in the parts of our bodies that received the most activity, or we may be sore in places where we've experienced a previous injury. Sometimes, the level of cortisol in our bodies can produce negative effects and may effect how we feel, especially if we've recently experienced high levels of anxiety or stress. Contrarily, if we have taken care to exercise regularly and maintained a proper diet, we don't feel much different than we did when we were 25 to 35.
Some folks experience soft tissue damage even when they've taken excellent care of themselves. These people often experience what is known as RSI, or repetitive strain injury. The biology of our bodies can also be attributed to our genetic makeup. We should attempt to become more self aware as relating to our bodies and know that our genetic predisposition could play a key role in how our bodies respond to physical and mental stress.
If we educate ourselves regarding our own family history and physical predispositions, we can customize our exercise routines, diets, and spiritual lives to offset risks proposed by genetics. If we choose to disregard our own genetic history, we may live to regret it later in life.
We've all heard of people that have lived extremely unhealthy lifestyles and yet have gone on to live long productive lives. However, these folks are the exception not the rule as relating to health and longevity. Most of the time, we feel the effects of abusing our bodies by the time we reach the age of 50.
Expecting our bodies to tolerate abuses like overeating, lack of activity, or absorbing too much stress is like a roll of the dice. But, we often experience sickness and physical injury when we overdo it. We can't expect to push the physical envelope without realizing negative consequences. It's realistic to surmise that lifestyle choices and our own genetic makeup play a contributing role in our ability to tolerate stress and physical injury.
The intent of this article is to focus attention on some of the changes our bodies may be forced to endure as we age, and to suggest recommendations to help prevent potential problems. These are simply ideas and recommendations and are not intended to address all of the physical, mental, and emotional difficulties one may encounter in the aging process. If you are personally experiencing physical, emotional or neurological problems, my recommendation is to seek professional medical assistance.
Recently, there's been and increased attention regarding factors and contributors to the aging process, especially now that children born in the 1940's and 50's are beginning to become senior citizens. Some of the most recent polling data by AARP indicates that only 1/3 of American workers between the age of 45 and 75 intend to actually cease working after they reach nominal retirement age.
Members of the senior work force have earned the respect of younger less experienced employees and have become a valuable asset to their employers. For this reason it is vital that employers pay careful attention to the consideration of ergonomic accommodations for their senior staff members. Senior staff members are an increasingly important resource to companies and employers need to be aware that senior staffers have special needs regarding their potential loss of mobility, vision, and hearing etc. Employers should be prepared to consider the probability of introducing modifications to work stations, seating, and ergonomic computer accessories designed to accommodate aging employees.
Automobile giant, Ford Motor Company, posted an article on their website, indicating they're engaging ergonomic design measures to accommodate older clientele. Rather than simply designing intuitive control features, which they do anyway, Ford employs the use of a third-age-suit to give younger engineers and designers a better understanding of needs seniors may have. It's sort of a simulator suit. A third age suit is a physical uniform that constrains the wearer, hindering movement of knees, elbows, back, and neck. In addition to the suit, they are required to wear gloves to diminish the sense of touch. They also wear goggles to simulate poor or restricted vision. Although the wearer doesn't actually experience these physical conditions, the outfit provides a feel for impairments that an older driver might experience who suffers from these conditions.
There is a relatively new field called gerontechnology, that marries technology, ergonomics and gerontology into the study and design of products for elder people in specific environments. As relating to design, gerontechnolgy is broken into five distinct categories; research, compensation, prevention, enhancements, and aid to parties providing elder care.
Conventional ergonomics are geared toward compensating for the decline in physical and mental ability, whereas gerontechnology focuses on technological advancements to assist seniors with the ability to enhance their communication, ability to learn and life enhancements to improve life quality as they age. However, prevention seems to be the most unique and interesting category in the study of gerontechnology, because it lends itself to the notion that aging can be positively impacted by redesigning products, services, and the environment.
One gerontechnology study addressed indoor air quality and its effects on individuals, their health and how air quality impacts aging. Engaging design issues such as these requires emphasis on user interaction, task management and ergonomic analysis, user evaluation, and experimentation with new methodology. Hopefully the information gleaned from the study of gerontechnology will contribute to the development and design of new products to accommodate the disabilities of an increasingly aging population.
The use of ergonomics can often reduce or prevent the debilitating effects of aging. Education and self awareness are key to living a comfortable and more active lifestyle. People can be taught how to improve their diet, exercise more, and learn how to reduce their stress levels. Even being more optimistic and laughing more can help reduce the effects of aging.
Some everyday effects of aging may include muscle atrophy and a reduction in physical strength. Other effects include arthritis, diminished hearing, sight and sense of touch. Conditions also include a lowered tolerance for cold and heat. Aging people also experience decreased water content in cartilage, tendons, and connective tissues, along with reduced elasticity and flexibility, stiffness, and an increased predisposition to stress.
Maintaining a healthy diet is extremely important to overall physical and mental health. A healthy diet is also critical to reducing chronic inflammation which scientists now concur, plays a key role in a host of debilitating conditions including Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and RSI.
by: Phil Swindle
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