Hearing acuity diminishes with age, although very gradually. Of course, excessively loud music and noise are known to damage hearing, which more often occurs among youth. However, older persons are frequently perceived to have hearing problems when, in fact, they do not. Hearing has been researched extensively, usually in laboratory settings. In hearing tests, older adults are often cautious in responding to sounds. When encouraged to take a risk and indicate when they think they hear a sound, hearing results are better. There’s another explanation as well. In an annual physical examination, a man asked for a hearing examination, saying his wife complained of his poor hearing. His hearing proved fine, and the doctor indicated that wives often make such complaints!

Changes in vision are an inevitable effect of aging. Losses in vision tend to occur at certain times in life. Diminished capacity to see is often discovered when trying to discern numbers in a phone book or read small print on the computer screen. Boomers can expect to champion demand for large-print phonebooks, large-print product labels, and enhanced lighting in the workplace.

Some people find it harder to see at a distance or difficult to adapt to the demand of doing close-up work at computer screens. Although visual acuity (ability to see small details) and visual accommodation (seeing clearly near and far) lessen by age 75, most vision problems can be corrected by modern surgical techniques or glasses. Also, more illumination is often necessary as the ability to adjust to light and dark decreases. Optometrists, ophthalmologists, and surgeons are usually able to correct such vision problems. Today, vision is rarely an impairment for productive work or other activities. Although other eye-related problems, such as cataracts and macular degeneration, may surface by age 60, many people have healthy eyes throughout their lives.

Aging eyes and ears do not interfere with our capacity to learn.
—Patricia Cross, Harvard professor

Enormous differences exist among individuals with respect to reaction time. In fact, some older adults respond more rapidly than younger adults, and reaction time among different cohorts can vary significantly. However, laboratory studies, often the environment for most studies of response time, almost universally show that as we age we tend to respond more slowly.

Yet research shows exercise and good health habits affect reaction time and aging. You can compensate for slower response time by repeated practicing and pacing of tasks. Older persons are often more cautious about errors and more interested in accuracy than speed, and this may slow response time. Actually, for performance, accuracy may often be more important than speed.

Also, very often what appears to be decline in reaction time or other capacities such as memory or vision may simply be a function of measurement problems and test conditions. Much of what we learn about aging has been through controlled experiments to ascertain changes in adults’ capabilities and capacities. Experiments generally lack realism; often, conditions under which individuals perform are artificial and do not reflect real-life experiences. Evidence exists that cautiousness increases with age. Some argue this is the result of lessons learned based on painful experiences, inhibiting imprudent or less thoughtful actions. When asked to “take a chance,” individuals will often perform well.

The aging brain of a healthy octogenarian can do almost everything a young person’s can do; it just takes a little longer and must begin a little earlier. . .however, this did not impede Immanuel Kant from writing his first book on philosophy at 57 or Will Durant from winning the Pulitzer Prize for history at 83.
—George Vaillant, 2002

The most common stereotype of aging is the “senior moment.” Memory has been the focus of significant studies comparing young and older adults. Findings reveal that older adults know things but often cannot recall them as efficiently or as quickly as in the past. Although it is a common belief that older adults recall remote and far distant memories more easily than recent memories, this is true across all ages groups—not just among older adults. Although memory and processing time decrease with age, other cognitive functions remain stable or improve and may offset other losses. Training and practice in problem-solving and memory techniques, such as memory aids, mnemonic devices, and checklists, can significantly improve abilities.

People learn at the same rate and in nearly the same manner regardless of age. Overall, cognitive abilities and intelligence remain relatively stable as you age. Evidence indicates that intelligence declines, stabilizes, and increases over time, but findings vary according to how it is defined and how it is measured. Actually, among subjects up to age 65, the number of years of education bears a stronger relationship to mental abilities than chronological age. Initial intelligence and high levels of education make a significant difference in performance on intelligence tests, suggesting the brighter we are, the brighter we remain.

Your mental capabilities may actually improve over time. A long-term study on aging (the Seattle Longitudinal Study, Schaie, 1983 and 1996) found that in vocabulary, spatial orientation, verbal memory, and inductive reasoning, middle-aged individuals functioned at a higher level than they did at age 25. This increase was particularly noteworthy for women. Only perceptual speed ability, as measured by speeded arithmetical tasks, showed steady age-related decline. Significant reductions in intelligence do not occur in most persons until their eighties or nineties and then not in all abilities and for all individuals. Counter to popular belief, young adulthood is not necessarily the peak of higher-order cognitive functioning.

While researchers dedicate their lives to studying intelligence, there is limited agreement on what it is and how to define and measure it. Originally, measures of intelligence grew out of a desire by educators to measure academic achievement and to predict its outcome. Today multiple theories of intelligence create new research frontiers, each of which speaks to different dimensions and their importance—such as reasoning, creativity, problem-solving, and capacity to learn.

Research has identified two different forms of adult intelligence that provide a useful distinction for boomers:

Older adults consistently have higher crystallized intelligence and declines are often not noticeable until one’s eighties or nineties. Scientists believe that fluid intelligence can either be restored or strengthened as people age even though it begins to decline earlier.

At 87, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is a prime example of someone whose functional age belies his year of birth, and he has not yet hinted at retirement. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Guggenheim Museum in New York at age 91. These men hardly “acted their age.”

Intellectual stimulation and developmental challenges can make a positive contribution to your well-being as you grow older. Your brain is adaptive and flexible—you can continue to improve, maintain, and even optimize your brain development throughout your adult years. Activities that require complex thinking is associated with high levels of intellectual flexibility at older ages. For example, Sudoku puzzles can be good for you. Completing them stimulates the brain and enhances fluid intelligence. The puzzles require ongoing decision-making and adaptive capability in response to changing variables—and create new neural pathways in the brain.

Sometimes it may seem that Gen X or Gen Y individuals are more capable than boomers in certain intellectual tasks. Evidence shows that this is not because boomers’ abilities have declined, but rather because next-generation talent actually has higher-order reasoning capabilities. Boomers have every reason to be optimistic about the stability of their intelligence and the ability to perform intellectual work effectively.

We know that the brain remains active—our wiring remains flexible—and that it responds positively to challenge, creating new connections that strengthen our capacity to respond to new ideas and generate them. We know that stimulation enhances our health both biologically and emotionally, and that some mental functions actually improve with age and experience.
—G. D. Cohen, 2000

Certain declining capabilities, if relevant, may be offset by other capabilities that improve with age. For example, communication and decision-making skills—which continue to sharpen with age—can more than make up for other declines. Additionally, experience, accumulated knowledge, insight, and patience may enhance your ability to perform effectively. Older adults typically rank high on characteristics important at work, such as dependability, conscientiousness, commitment, and involvement in their jobs.

You should try to align your activities with your interests and capacities. If your knees are a problem, you logically should avoid jogging and tennis. Take up walking or golf. If speed is critical in the work you are doing, look for other work that values accuracy and quality instead.

Studies consistently reveal that older workers have the capacity to continue to perform effectively at work. Conclusions suggest that you should do the following:

Most likely the world would be better off if we were to focus on individual capabilities instead of talking about age, universal aging experiences, or broad trends. One way to describe a person’s capabilities is to focus on functional age. When people say that 60 is the new 40, or 80 is the new 60, they are alluding to functional age. Those persons who can function in the manner expected of a person age 40, displaying the same behavior, capacities, and characteristics, might as well be that age. There are individuals who, at 90, are still running, swimming, working, and otherwise functioning in the manner of much younger persons. Similarly, there are 40-year-olds whose characteristics are associated with older persons.

The www.realage.com website gives you an estimate of your functional age (your RealAge) based on a set of questions similar to those in the life expectancy calculators mentioned earlier. Instead of life expectancy, it gives you your age equivalent to your capabilities. It also gives you a list of factors that make your RealAge younger and a list of factors that make it older. The site also offers a plan and suggested books to help you lower your functional age. RealAge is the publisher of a popular book, You: Staying Young—The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty (Roisen and Oz, 2007).

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?
—Satchel Paige

Focusing on functional age rather than chronological age is especially important for a boomer as it can free you to create your own roadmap for the future. People in technical, professional, and managerial roles who take care of themselves and their bodies by maintaining healthy lifestyles and good habits will likely continue to be strong contributors in the workplace for a considerable period of time over their lifespans. The free-agency model, well understood in the world of sports, could well be the new paradigm for boomer-age adults. As a self-directed individual who views your career and life choices as your own (rather than being directed by an employer), you should market yourself and your experience without trepidation.

The bottom line is that you can accommodate to changing capacities just as employers can improve their ability to accommodate your needs. Opportunities and choices exist for you, as well as your employer, to capitalize on the strengths and experience you bring to the workplace, especially given talent gaps that need to be filled by experienced professionals.

We need to think differently about aging. People are living about 30 years longer than they used to. That means that society is going to have older people, and we’re going to need different priorities and mindsets.
—Robert N. Butler, gerontologist

In American society, older adults are frequently less valued than the young based simply on superficial appearance. Unflattering jokes, often part of everyday conversations, reinforce a young-old dichotomy and marginalize adults who don’t correspond to how people are supposed to look and act when doing things normally associated with a younger age. Katherine, blessed with good genes, looks more like 45 than 65. Yet she is quiet about her age. When her colleagues talk about their five-year-olds starting school, she withholds references to her 38-year-old son. She worries that her coworkers may think she doesn’t fit the youthful profile of her cutting-edge, high-tech company.

Although of late the “gray market” has spawned a shift in advertising approaches, television ads and marketing campaigns still include young, good-looking models. Less than 2% of prime-time television characters are age 65 or older; middle-aged writers languish on the sidelines as men under 40 get most of Hollywood’s writing jobs for television and film. As a consequence, some who fear aging go to extreme lengths to mitigate external telltale signs. In 2004, the U.S. market for anti-aging products and services grew to more than $45.5 billion and will reach nearly $72 billion if it continues to grow at its present annual rate of 9.5%. To improve job prospects, 63% of job applicants surveyed by Harlson and Parker said they would leave dates off their resumes to hide their age, and 18% said they would undergo cosmetic surgery. These examples reinforce the notion that chronological aging is an undesirable progression and creates age anxiety among members of the boomer generation.

You should speak up and challenge behaviors that are based on aging myths. Don’t let others relegate you to roles they consider “age appropriate.” Talk with your manager about your interests, abilities, and plans for the future. Show that you are fully engaged and that you intend to stay engaged and active.

Social scientist, Kenneth Gergen, suggests that people shape their environment and not the other way around. While he does not ignore the role of biology on aging, he argues that we can create our own reality. Such a philosophy empowers you to be an active agent—initiating, influencing, organizing, and executing action plans to produce certain results just as your generation has done in the past.

Jim, a manager whose hair turned gray at 28, experienced discrimination at a young age. Finally, at a company “lunch & learn” series, he engaged 30 people in a lively discussion about ageism. He also spoke about his boomer father—CEO of a major market company—who proudly proclaims that each gray hair on his head is a strand of wisdom spawned by life experiences. Jim and his father showed that we have the opportunity to redefine what it means to age. We can turn what some see as downsides to our advantage.

If you join other boomers to defy age stereotypes, attitudes will change. With a belief in personal self-efficacy, combined with personal navigation—the ability to take control of your life journey—boomers can overcome institutional, personal, and social barriers that impede their self-determination and choices.

Far more than is usually assumed, successful aging is in our hands. What we can do for ourselves, however, depends partly on the opportunities and constraints that are presented to us as we age—in short, on the attitudes and expectations of others toward older people, and on policies of the larger society of which we are a part.
—Rowe and Kahn, 1998

Exercising as little as three hours per week by walking briskly can be key to remaining intellectually sharp. The brain’s long, slow decline may not be inevitable. While popular wisdom suggests that mental gymnastics (reading, playing a musical instrument, memorizing songs, learning to recognize birds or flowers, playing computer-based brain games) is a way to keep mentally fit, the benefit of challenging the mind in different ways has been difficult to prove. University of Illinois researchers discovered that with exercise older brains can “rev up” and boost neuron production (neurogenesis), leading to improvement in thinking, remembering, and cognitive flexibility (thinking outside the box).

People who exercise had the brain volumes of people three years younger, proving a connection between moving the body and firing up your brain. The implications of this groundbreaking research for boomers are that you can increase the gray and white matter of your brain to make it more plastic and adaptive to change. By simply walking briskly, you can wake up brain cells that have always been there but have become dormant with age. The choice is yours!

Regular exercise, as sanctioned and recommended by your doctor, can prolong physical well being. Aerobic and cardiac exercise can prolong the decline of (and even improve) cognitive capacities. However, sustained wear and tear from running, sports, biking, or other exercise can lead you to orthopedists’ offices and operating rooms. Sports injuries are the number-two reason for doctor’s visits behind the common cold. Some boomers are turning sports medicine into a fast-growing field! By virtue of its rebellious nature, members of your generational cohort are fighting to stay healthy longer. Sometimes they overdo it. Instead of winding down, many are overzealously gearing up for new lifestyles and new life stages. Pace yourself!

You might also consider Eastern approaches to health and well being, embraced by persons of all ages. Ancient practices of qigong or tai chi have been found to retard or reverse some diseases associated with aging by those who use them. They bring together a regimen of low-stress exercise, mental focus, balancing, and spirituality. They include physical movement, breathing exercises, and meditation. Benefits include lower stress, increased body flexibility, and enhanced psychic health (mind and body).

Beyond doubt, research shows that you can lower your risk for the most serious diseases of our lifetime by following a healthy diet. You can prevent 80% of the cases of heart disease and diabetes and help avert hypertension and even some forms of cancer. In fact, approximately 70% of premature deaths and aging are lifestyle related. Choosing foods that you like, complemented by cutting-edge nutritional advice, also enable you to focus on your own particular health concerns. To what extent will healthy eating habits and sensible food choices be part of your equation for living well and being fit?

In 2002, the U.S. government introduced new dietary recommendations and created a web-based food pyramid that includes exercise and offers 12 different eating plans. Ongoing studies have expanded governmental efforts to incorporate the latest nutritional science, shifting the emphasis to eating good fats, whole grains, and healthy protein sources. You now have at your disposal everything from organic markets and health-food stores to specialty, health-conscious restaurants, making it easy to find healthy alternatives to fast food. It stands to reason that you would not put motor oil and corrosive chemicals into the gas tank of your one-of-a-kind, vintage car. So why would you put harmful ingredients and unhealthy foods into your body?

Being a heavy smoker before age 50 was found to be the most important single predictive factor of healthy physical aging in an extensive research study of adult development conducted at Harvard. Prior to this research, variables such as ancestral longevity, parental characteristics, or stress were presumed to predict healthy aging. Although the rank order varied in importance among study groups, control of weight, exercise, and abuse of cigarettes and alcohol—at least by the time an individual is 50—dramatically predicted healthy aging and whether a person would be enjoying his or her eightieth year.

Research shows that it is almost never too late to begin healthy habits such as smoking cessation, sensible diet, exercise, and the like. Even more important, it is never too late to benefit from those changes.
—Rowe and Kahn, 1998

The myth suggests that the older you get, the sicker you get. In reality, the older you get, the healthier you’ve been. To live to 100, you can’t have been sick for long periods of time. To live so long, you avoided or survived serious illnesses or avoided debilitating diseases.

American society is increasingly focused on health and disease prevention. People are empowering themselves and searching the web for information on the latest treatments, tools, and medicines that will enable them to avoid diseases or prevail over them. Drugs are now available to cure degenerative conditions. Nutritional supplements, hormones, and regenerative medicines are on the market that can improve your memory, lower cholesterol, and minimize the pain of arthritis. Books, articles, and self-assessment inventories enable you to be a co-researcher and co-manager of your life in partnership with health care professionals.

Alternative approaches associated with complementary medicine are becoming more integrated into mainstream thinking as seen in the increased usage of massage, acupuncture, and homeopathic treatments.

Many of the declining capacities that adults experience over time can be accommodated by workplace modifications. Research for Microsoft revealed that 57% of working-age computer users in the U.S. between 18 and 64 could benefit from accessible technology because of mild to severe vision, hearing, and cognitive difficulties. Microsoft is but one of many companies developing a wide range of products to help mid- and late-career individuals mitigate the effects of age-related sensory difficulties. In the Adam@home comic strip, Adam humorously illustrates how accessible technology can help individuals retain a competitive edge at work.

It will be imperative for businesses to have resources that can help them recruit and retain older works, and individuals will need tools that can help them keep their competitive edge at work despite age-related difficulties and impairments. As the U.S. workforce continues to age, the need for accessible technology as a widespread and mainstream business resource will increase even more.
—Forrester Research, 2003

In the Harvard studies, future orientation was found to be a prominent personal quality contributing to healthy aging. This is the ability to anticipate, to plan, and to hope. This characteristic speaks directly to boomers who are taking charge of their lives and developing plans that address their personal needs and desires to remain active and engaged whether at work or at play.

Staying active at work has beneficial effects on your physical and psychological well being. This holds true even in jobs that are undesirable and in positions that have excessive demands or otherwise cause dissatisfaction. It is vital to stay active and engaged.

We have barely even considered the possibility of aging for new kinds of loving intimacy, purposeful work and activity, learning and knowing, community, and care. To see age as continued human development involves a revolutionary paradigm shift.
—Betty Friedan, age 76

Whether you continue to work or decide to retire, staying connected to others is important to your well being. For boomers who remain in the workforce and who are notorious for “working to live and living to work,” balancing work and play is especially important. According to Carl Jung, “In every adult there lurks a child—an eternal child, something that is always becoming, is never completed, and calls for unceasing care, attention, and education.” If you create greater work-life balance while still employed by integrating leisure, avocational interests, and relationships, you can minimize feelings of loss or disengagement upon retirement. No doubt, retiring and leaving behind the “old gang” at the office, especially if you don’t have hobbies, can be daunting. Therefore, building a post-institutional identity is an especially important consideration.

Having attachments and relationships in your life and maintaining connections with significant others—friends, partners, spouses, and colleagues—is not only life-enhancing but also life-saving. People who are lonely are twice as likely to have ulcers, and unmarried men are two to three times as likely to die of a heart attack as married individuals. This is not to suggest that marriage is the answer but rather that support from, caring by, and intense bonding with others has the potential to hasten recovery and extend life.

Loneliness is hard to quantify; however, individuals who ranked highest on loneliness scales were twice as likely to develop the type of dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease. This underscores how critical it is to feel appreciated by and connected to others. As you consider ways to make connections, cultivate friends, and socialize with others, volunteering can be a meaningful decision. By doing something that is personally satisfying, you can make a worthwhile contribution while also benefiting from interactions with others. Other alternatives for developing relationships may include engaging in communal activities, traveling with others, taking a class, or joining an investment or book club. All present opportunities to make new friends while also satisfying personal interests and goals.

The research also found that cultivating friends and developing a social network, before and after 50, is important for healthy aging. Many individuals leave behind friends and colleagues when they retire or relocate, leaving a void. It is important to form new relationships—and this may require explicit plans for getting to know others and getting involved in groups. Take care not to cut yourself off abruptly from social networks and friends as you make life changes and make a concerted effort to develop new relationships over time. Follow the example of Gen X and Y folks: Don’t let distance be a barrier—keep in touch through the Internet and phone calls.

Boomers talk a lot about stress. Retirement is often considered an escape from the stresses experienced in work organizations, the physical and mental strains of working long hours, traveling, and meeting deadlines. Often it is the unpleasant factors at work and in other environments that are stressors.

It is common to link stress with distress—stress evoked by negative feelings and events. However, not all stress has negative implications. Stress can also be positive. Eustress—a positive form of stress—evokes positive emotions and can be pleasant or curative. Controlled stress can give you a competitive edge. For example, athletes and performers often achieve more and perform better when they experience positive stress. Most likely you’ve experienced eustress when giving a speech or making a presentation. Boomer professionals and managers typically thrive on challenge, achievement, and pursuit of personal satisfaction.

Canadian physician, Hans Selye (1956), defined stress as the body’s response to any demand for changes. Left uncontrolled, negative stress can cause disease, illness, and fatigue. Major life events, such as changing jobs or moving, are changes that have the potential to create negative stress. Getting divorced, being fired, experiencing financial hardship or bankruptcy, or suffering a death in the family are common examples of potentially stressful events. When two or more of these occur at the same time, responding and adapting is more difficult for a person. People often get ill when too many stressful events concurrently. The good news for most boomers is that such major stressors, if experienced, are in the past. The factors concerning boomers most are financial condition, lifestyle and work choices, and health concerns.

There are many ways to relieve stress, or at least the symptoms of stress. Many boomers find comfort in the following:

However, prevention of stress is better than symptomatic relief. By living a healthy and active life, as discussed in this chapter, you may avoid the negative stress that is often debilitating. Get plenty of sleep (even naps), find time for music and hobbies, put variety into your work, and spend time with family and friends.

The most common conditions in mid-life are non-fatal. The way we live our lives has the greatest influence on delaying or preventing physiological decline and diseases.
—Merrill and Verbrugge, 1999