With birth, aging begins, and continues throughout life. Such body changes as wrinkles, loss of hearing, grey hair, the need for bifocals, bone density loss and slowing metabolism are common.

These changes are not necessarily harmful. The person whose hair does not turn grey, whose skin keeps its elasticity into old age is rare indeed. With aging, our functions slow down – for example, the function of our bodily organs: among other changes, the body slowly loses its ability to absorb nutrition from food.

Aging results from the functioning of various factors: lifestyle, genes, various diseases. People age at different rates and in various ways, but normal aging causes:

• Hearing: Loss of hearing acuity, especially sounds at the higher end of the spectrum, plus the ability to separated valuable sounds from the noise of the background.

• Eyesight: Loss of ability to judge depth and peripheral vision, and to distinguish between certain colors.

• Taste: Loss of taste buds and saliva.

• Arteries: stiffen as we age, due to fatty deposits building up in blood vessels.

• Touch and smell: loss of sensitivity to touch and smelling acuity.

• Body fat: increases until middle age, then stabilizes, then decreases. Fat distribution moves from just under the skin to the internal organs.

• Bladder: increased frequency in urination.

• Brain: loss of some structures connecting nerve cells, resulting in more “senior moments.”

• Kidneys: shrink and lose efficiency.

• Heart: thickens with age. The body’s ability to extract oxygen from the blood and maximum pumping rate decreases.

• Metabolism: ability to process medicines and alcohol decreases. Reflexes slow.

• Lungs: loss of elasticity, decrease in maximum breathing capacity.

• Muscles: mass declines, more with decreased exercise.

• Skin: becomes more wrinkled and dry; heals more slowly.

• Sexual: for women, menopause, decrease in vaginal lubrication, sexual tissues atrophy, For men, decrease in sperm production, enlarged prostate.

Physical and social losses may be emotionally difficult, and must be overcome.

Many of the changes can be affected by exercise levels and other lifestyle factors. People who live in areas that studies have shown to have especially long life expectancy tend to have the same characteristics:

• Moderate alcohol consumption.

• Diets low in animal fats and high in vegetables and whole grains.

• Physical activity continuing through lifespan.

• Sexual activity throughout life.

• Challenging physical environment and free of pollutants.

• They are valued and respected in the environment, and remain there.

A balanced diet, exercise, moderate or no alcohol and no smoking, and social involvement can decelerate the aging process significantly.

MEDITATION

Teaching deep relaxation techniques during the daytime, can help improve sleep at night. Scientific literature has found evidence that meditation is associated with certain health benefits, perhaps by slowing heart rate and breathing, thereby reducing activity in the body’s fight-or-flight mechanism.

According to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, people with primary insomnia said they slept better after using meditation as a sleep aid. While most insomnia is associated with mental or physical illness, or use of medications or other substances, primary insomnia occurs on its own.

Researchers separated 11 participants aged 25-45 with chronic primary insomnia into two groups. One group used Kriva Yoga, a form of meditation, and health education. The other group received general health, weight loss, nutrition, stress management and exercise but did not practice meditation. After two months, the group that used meditation reported improvements in total sleep time, total wake time, sleep efficiency, earlier sleep onset and depression.

An estimated 20 million people try meditating each year, according to a study by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, in an effort to reduce anxiety, pain, stress, insomnia, and depression.

SUPPLEMENTS

Vitamin supplements are recommended as a part of a healthy diet.

Various studies have shown a link between health conditions, including insomnia, and Vitamin B12. The vitamin is found in animal protein foods such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry and dairy products. Vegans who do not eat these foods will often eventually show a dietary deficiency, and should take supplements if needed.

An inadequate amount of certain minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and amino acids may disrupt sleep, while deficiencies in magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, melatonin and folic acid may impair sleep.

• Calcium, especially in food, sedates the body. A deficiency causes wakefulness and restlessness.

• Magnesium can aid in inducing sleep. A deficiency may be responsible for the nervousness that prevents sleep. A lack of magnesium and calcium can cause leg cramps in the night.

• B vitamins have a sedative effect on the nerves. A combination of vitamins B5, B6, and B12 can help to prevent insomnia.

• Inositol promotes REM sleep.

• Chromium helps insomnia in people with blood sugar problems that keep them awake at night.

• L-tryptophan is essential for repairing protein tissues and in creating new protein. It is converted into serotonin, a natural sleep-promoting chemical. It also aids in the production of melatonin in the brain.

• Other substances such as melatonin, 5-HTP, serotonin, phosphatidylserine (an amino acid), and Inositol may also enhance sleep and reduce insomnia.⁴

YOGA

Yoga has been around a long time, more than 5,000 years. It is popular with Americans; nearly 11 million of us are enjoying its benefits.

In the West, yoga classes concentrate on teaching the physical poses, called asanas, along with meditation and breathing techniques. Some yoga styles teach us how to move our bodies in new ways. These styles offer the greatest health benefits by promoting flexibility, strength and balance.

Flexibility:

Some people have misconceived ideas about yoga. They imagine it will involve a lot of physically demanding stretching, turning and bending. But yoga asanas safely stretch the muscles. Lactic acid builds up with muscle work: it causes tension pain, fatigue and stiffness but can be released through safe stretching. Besides increasing the range of motion in our joints, it may also increase joint lubrication, resulting in a sense of fluidity and ease throughout the body.

Yoga also stretches the soft tissue of the body, including tendons, ligaments, and the fascia sheath that surrounds our muscles. In one study, participants noticed about a 35% improvement in flexibility after just eight weeks of yoga. Flexibility in shoulder and trunk muscles improved the most.

Strength

If you want a real workout, try ashtanga or power yoga. But less taxing styles of yoga, like lyengar yoga, which involves less movement but more precise alignment in poses, can also provide strength and endurance benefits. Poses such as Upward and Downward Dog and the Plank pose, increase upper-body strength, which becomes crucial as we age. To strengthen the lower back, use the Upward Dog and Chair pose. Nearly all poses, when practiced correctly, build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

Breathing

The deep, observed breathing that yoga involves may improve lung capacity, helpful in improving sports endurance and performance. However, the focus in yoga isn’t on aerobic fitness, but lots of hard breathing in a warm room can provide an aerobic benefit. Deepening and strengthening the breathing process stimulates relaxation – the opposite of the adrenaline surge of the stress response.

Posture

Better posture comes with increased flexibility and strength. Sitting and standing poses develop core strength, as deep abdominal muscles are used to maintain and support poses. Once your core is strengthened, you are more likely to “sit and stand tall.” The increased body awareness yoga brings warns you quickly when you are slouching or slumping.

Stress/Calm

Underlying our stress us an underlying “mind chatter that can be relieved through meditation. Raw beginners have often found they feel less stressed and more relaxed after their first class. Focusing on the breath helps the mind calm.

Another anti-stress benefit is a decrease in catecholamines. Catecholamines are hormones produced in the adrenal glands in response to stress. Lowering of other hormone neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine and epinephrine, brings a feeling of calm. An increase in the hormone oxytocin – the “trust” and “bonding” hormone that leads to feeling relaxed and connected to others.

Mood and Concentration

Although they are difficult to assess scientifically, mood, concentration and the ability to focus mentally are other benefits of yoga. Happiness and contentment follow. Researchers have recently begun exploring the effects of yoga on depression, perhaps due to yoga’s habit of increasing oxygen levels in the brain. Yoga may even be helpful as part of a therapy plan to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Heart

Yoga’s effect on heart disease has been widely studied. Yoga has been found to lower blood pressure and to slow the heart rate, which benefits people with heart disease, hypertension, and stroke. A program developed by Dean Omish, MD, was the first to partially reverse heart disease by diet and lifestyle. Yoga may also have an antioxidant effect. Associated with yoga are decreased triglyceride levels, cholesterol and provides a boost to immune system function.

Other Medical Conditions

With the growing popularity of yoga in the West, researchers have begun to study the health benefits of therapeutic yoga also called integrative yoga therapy, or IYT. IYT is used as part of a treatment plan for other chronic conditions such as asthma, back pain, and arthritis. Most clinical studies are taking place outside the US, but the NIH has funded studies on yoga’s health benefits for multiple sclerosis and insomnia.

Other Benefits

Some studies have suggested that increased learning and memory are associated with yoga practice. Others are studying its effect on the aging process, sense of self-acceptance and energy levels. Some people believe yoga increases spiritual awareness, but this is difficult to measure. Students have even reported yoga has improved marriage and work place relationships. The only way to find out what yoga can do for you is to try it.