Age features of a man after forty years

Wealth is not in the possession of wealth, but in the ability to use it expediently.

M. Cervantes

Ancient Greek thinker Pythagoras believed that the four seasons of the year correspond to four periods of human life, each of which is equal to 20 years:

The period of formation to 20 years

A young man of 20-40 years

A man in his prime 40-60 years

Old man 60-80 years old

According to the ancient Chinese classification, a person's life is divided into the following phases:

Youth to 20 years

Age of marriage to 30 years old

Age of performing public duties to 40 years

Cognitionidents delusions 50 years

last period of his creative life -60 years

Preferred age 70 years

old age after 70 years

According to Pavlov, the length of human life should be at least 100 years."We, by his incontinence," he wrote, "reduce our time to a much smaller figure by our disorderliness, our ugly treatment of our own organism."

A person should strive to live to old age not in order to "creak" as long as possible and, going on a well-deserved rest, to watch from the side, how life rages, and to work fully without any discounts on age.

Attention is drawn to the wide discussion in the Japanese press of the problem of the "second life" of those who were formerly considered, and he himself considered himself an obsolete one."A man who has reached 55 years of age, that is, the official retirement age," wrote the Japanese newspaper Daley Yomiuri, "is in fact on the verge of his second life, which is about 22 years old. His 50-year-old wife can also count on another 30 years of life. And both of them should think about how to use them these years. "

Withdrawal from its permanent work under the pressure of the administration of large firms and government institutions of the bulk of the Japanese who have reached the age of 55-60 does not, however, lead to the complete cessation of their employment for hire. Most, as reported in the Japanese press, later again get a job at other, usually small and medium-sized enterprises, already on other, much worse than before, conditions.

For the Japanese in the work - the meaning of life. If Europeans or Americans, having stopped working by age, get pleasure from the excess of free time in old age, then the Japanese, when they leave work after reaching the age limit, try to find employment for themselves again. We can say that the more happy are not the European pensioners who spend the whole day in the parks on the benches and look at the pigeons, but those people who, being old, nevertheless find joy in work, devoting part of their time to work on a par with others. Of course, the main cause of the thrust of the elderly Japanese to work lies not only in their inherent predilection for work, but also in material needs.

Based on the above, we can conclude that the age for men is a relative term. At least 40 years for a man - this is a heyday. The productivity of his labor, especially of the intellectual, is exceptionally high. Physically, he is no longer as strong and courageous as he was at the age of 20, but despite this we are still recovering well and with a certain physical load. The complete balance of psychophysical functions contributes to the fact that experience - capital accumulated for 40 years - only now begins to bring interest.

Of course, love is now not what it used to be. In youth, it is compared with a stormy river - noisy, strong, but shallow. However, the mountain stream flows into a mountain lake - quiet, calm, clean and deep. This is more like the love of a mature, experienced person who knows how to appreciate what is really valuable.

In a family with experience, as a rule, everything has already been determined and settled. If there is love, that is, if not, it is already clear that no. Both the husband and wife know the basic habits and preferences of the other side. And there are no more misunderstandings that arose earlier on this basis.

Not surprisingly, it is the elderly people who are considered the most wise, worthy of high posts and ranks. For example, there is an opinion that there are many long-livers in the Caucasus because respect for the elderly person creates around him an atmosphere of benevolence that promotes his physical well-being.

The Roman philosopher Cicero writes about old age as the most precious period in life, when people have a special sobriety of mind and passion no longer cloud the mind, but everything is decided by life experience - a treasure that does not have a price.

Experience and maturity of thought have always been a function of time. They remain the privilege of the elderly.

And in the sixth decade of the modern man does not yet look and does not feel like an old man, and for 40-50 years - the most zenith of life, when there are so many forces, l plans, and desires.

However, it is from this age that a person is in danger. The physical state gradually ceases to correspond to the intellectual level. The brain still works well, but in the physical structure of the male body, unfavorable changes begin to manifest themselves more and more: the first signs of aging of the body.

Aging is a normal physiological process. It is an integral part of life. Very well said about the aging of Cicero: "There was always a need for some kind of completion, and when the time comes, we have to wither and fall to some extent, like the fruits of the trees or the fruits of the earth."From these wise words it is clear that aging is a natural process, continuous, starting from the moment of birth.

And a reasonable person finds the strength in himself patiently and gradually rebuild his life in accordance with new circumstances. What are the signs of aging?

A typical symptom of lung aging is the emergence of emphysema. It begins relatively early, in many cases already from 35 years. Its initial symptoms are loss of elasticity in the walls of the pulmonary vesicles. The elastic fibers, which allowed the alveolar bubbles to shrink when inhaled, become stubborn, lose elasticity and to a certain extent fix the pulmonary vesicles in the inspiratory position. At the same time, they begin to prevent the complete liberation of the alveoli from the air upon exhalation. As a result, the vital capacity of the lungs gradually decreases, breathing becomes superficial, and some( constantly increasing) amount of air is kept in the lungs all the time. Older changes in the respiratory system can be largely prevented if systematically performing simple breathing exercises.

The brain of the elderly is smaller in size and firmer than in the young. Its surface becomes more folded. Atrophy many cells of gray matter and the spinal cord - the most valuable elements of nervous tissue. In the vast majority of people, if not all, from 40-50 years old, there are more or less functional changes in the nervous system, after 50-55 years, the functions of the nervous system are often violated even more, which is manifested in memory impairment.

Cardiovascular disorders in men at this age are of particular importance.

Atherosclerosis is the most common disease among the population and in recent decades has assumed a threatening, epidemiological character. According to the forecasts of experts from the World Health Organization( WHO), this trend will grow worldwide if we do not take urgent medical and state measures for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

At the heart of the development of atherosclerosis lie, on the one hand, disruption of the properties and metabolism of lipids and lipoproteins of the blood plasma, and, on the other hand, changes in the wall of the arteries. The main structural formation of the atherosclerotic process in the arteries, leading to severe circulatory disturbances in certain organs, is an atherosclerotic plaque. The wall of the vessel, sealed with atherosclerotic plaques, is difficult to expand when passing through the arteries of the blood, as a result of which the flow of blood, for example, to the heart muscle becomes insufficient. This is how myocardial ischemia develops. Arteries afflicted with atherosclerosis begin to respond in a different way to normal loads, there are perverse reactions to stimuli with a tendency to vasospasm, that is, a sharp reduction in their narrowing. So, if a healthy person with physical labor increases the coronary vessels of the heart, then atherosclerosis, on the contrary, they can narrow. As the development of atherosclerosis gradually develops its complication - angina pectoris, manifested by attacks of cardiac pain.

Plaques can disintegrate, and pieces broken by a blood stream are entered into various organs and tissues, often causing a blockage of blood vessels. The most formidable complication of atherosclerosis is a partial or complete blockage of the artery by a thrombus, that is, a blood clot that, with increased coagulation, is easily formed on the rough surface of the protruding plaque. The formation of a blood clot in the vessels of the heart leads to the development of myocardial infarction, that is, to the necrosis of the heart muscle segment. If a clot obstructs the artery of the brain, a cerebral infarction( stroke) occurs. Infarcts in atherosclerosis can develop in any organs( lungs, spleen, lower limbs, intestines), but most often they affect the heart and brain.

Professor Alexei Myasnikov, an outstanding Soviet scientist, academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, laureate of the International Cardiology Prize "Golden Stethoscope", for the first time in the world in 1965 formulated and scientifically substantiated the neuro-metabolic theory of atherosclerosis. In this theory the neurogenic factor is given the leading significance. The risk factors, which are being intensively studied in recent years in all countries of the world, only contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, but do not cause it.

External risk factors include: neuropsychic stress, reduced physical activity( hypodynamia), smoking, excessive consumption of high-calorie food.

Internal risk factors are an increase in the level of cholesterol and lipoproteins in the blood, arterial hypertension( hypertonic disease), overweight, violation of carbohydrate metabolism, psychological personality traits.

If the external risk factor( consumption in a large number of animal products with a high cholesterol content) is combined with a good metabolism, with high physical activity, then in this situation it may not appear. Interesting observations of AL Myasnikov and employees who surveyed the fishermen of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Some of them consumed up to 2 kg of caviar a day, for a long time, but they did not show any clinical manifestations of atherosclerosis, as cholesterol, introduced with food in the cold labor. Let us give an example of another combination of factors. A typical intellectual, leading a sedentary lifestyle, an adherent of television and fatty dishes, despising the stadium and work in the garden, having a timid, timid character, hypertension, excessive weight and an imperious wife holding him "under the heel", on one fine morning, receives a strictreprimand with a warning. After several hours with myocardial infarction, he is hospitalized in the clinic.

Consider each of the risk factors separately.

Neuropsychiatric overstrain( stress).In English, "stress" means stress( the term was proposed by Canadian scientist Hans Selye).The physiological meaning of the stress reaction is the mobilization of the defenses of the organism with this or that damaging effect. With stimuli of weak strength, a physiological( adaptive) stress reaction arises. If stress is strong!or is delayed, a pathological reaction develops. Pathological stress reaction causes a variety of shifts in the body with a violation of various mechanisms of metabolism and damage to the heart, vessels: leads to the development of atherosclerosis in the vessels. The processes of blood clotting are increasing, which contributes to the formation of thrombi. When stress is consumed a large amount of energy, and if the stressful situation is not resolved for a long time, there may be a sharp depletion of the body and even its death.

The most common form of chronic stress is emotional stress - permanent negative, unreacted emotions: fear, hatred, sadness, grief, dissatisfaction, unrequited love, etc. The most harmful are those stresses that threaten the position in the social or microsocialenvironment: removal from high office, loss of independent financial position, loss of prestige, complication of intra-family relations, family breakdown, etc.

Negative emotions and stress are among the causes of pzvitiya diseases of the cardiovascular system. American scientists I. Friedman and R. Rosenman proposed to divide people into two types, differing in their psychological characteristics: type "A" and type "B".For people of type "A" are characterized by high performance, constant tension, accelerated life rhythm, the pursuit of success, greater responsibility for the task. They are constantly loaded with work for which neglect of rest, work on weekends, rarely enjoy vacation.

People like "A" prefer to cope in a difficult situation, exert all efforts, but often fall into a state of anxiety and anxiety. When the life situation is very difficult, they can have a nervous breakdown, which results in a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself, despair.

Type "B" are people who prefer a quiet lifestyle, they are leisurely, balanced, do not rush, prefer to work within the established time. They are satisfied with the position they have reached, they try to get away better from the conflict situation, rather than solve it, take a wait-and-see attitude.

I. Friedman and R. Rozenman proposed a test that includes a number of questions with which you can determine the type of person.

Let's present the questions, which are easy to answer any person on the "yes" or "no" scheme.

1. I have a constant desire to be ahead.

2. I want to achieve my goal, but I do not know exactly what it is.

3. I feel the need to compete and win.

4. I am constantly striving to achieve recognition.

5. I am always busy with many things at once.

6. I am always in a hurry and constantly on the brink of being late.

7. I strive to speed things up, execute them sooner.

8. I am in a state of strong mental and physical anxiety.

If most of the answers to questions are positive, then the person is of the type "A" and he has a higher risk of coronary heart disease than a person with type "B".

Most of the time a man spends time at work, so his condition is largely determined by how his professional relationships develop with colleagues and bosses.

Productivity of the subordinate often depends on the behavior, characterological characteristics of the manager. At the enterprises of Japan, for example, there is a rule: if the shop manager does not smile, communicating with his subordinates, he faces dismissal. He must do everything possible to create good psychological conditions for fruitful work. Is not this one of the reasons for the great success of the country's scientific and technological progress?

The modern family is also one of the frequent sources of stressful situations. An unfavorable psychological feature of marriage is often the situation where "one kisses, and another allows himself to kiss"( the leader is imaginary and factual).The second, not the best side of marriage is that if there is a serious quarrel, a conflict, then they have nowhere to go. Stress continues to function even after the quarrel seems to have stopped, but the quarrels remain in the same apartment, under the same roof. Hence, its transition to chronic is possible. The third peculiarity is that married psychologically incompatible people, unfortunately, learn about this late, after they have children.

The cause of coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction is often in families are conflicts in intimate relationships: dissatisfaction in love, unrequited love, betrayal, jealousy. In the Sukhumi monkey cattery they put such an experience: a married couple of monkeys were seated in different cages. In the cage, another male was put to the female. The cage of the former "spouse" was set so that he could observe the courtship and love games of the new couple. Jealousy drove the outcast to fury. This lasted for several weeks, then he died. At the end of the experiment, when the "spouse", exposed to the stress of jealousy, was discovered in the heart muscle, changes were found that are typical of myocardial infarction.

Mental overstrain may become the cause of stress. Not so much the stress itself is a source of stress, how many negative emotions accompanying it. Stress arises if it is necessary to do an inordinate amount of work in a short period of time: haste begins, nervousness develops, anxiety arises, fear of unfulfilled task. Sturmovshchina, avraly - these are the sources of stress in organizations and in production.

Most men consider ensuring the material well-being of the family as their primary responsibility. However, our modern life has deprived a man of priority in this task. At one time, the husband was a breadwinner, as his wages allowed him to support his family on a decent material level, and this satisfied his self-esteem. Currently, most men perform this function alone are not able to. As a rule, the family now exists for the earnings of both spouses. The husband, unable to adequately help the family, barely making ends meet, is going through;when the accusations of the spouse are added to this, the conflict can be regarded as a chronic stress that promotes the development of cardiovascular pathology.

Another risk factor is smoking.

According to NA Amosov, our country is the "most smoking" in the world. And we struggle with smoking practically is not conducted by anybody.

What is the effect of nicotine? On the one hand, smoking for a short time relieves fatigue. However, on the other hand, this is due to the increasing release of adrenalin-like substances into the bloodstream, which increase the heart rate - about 8-10 beats per minute from one cigarette smoked, increase the need for cardiac muscle in oxygen.

Smoking, as well as drinking alcohol, can be attributed to the number of social and domestic risk factors for the development of diseases. The adverse effect of smoking on the heart and blood vessels is associated with the direct action of nicotine, which causes spasm of them, increases the permeability of the vascular wall. All this contributes to the deposition in the arteries of cholesterol with the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and narrowing the lumen of the arteries. When smoking, the human body receives oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and even hydrogen cyanide. Ischemic heart disease, strokes, heart attacks, blockage of large arteries of the lower limbs, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer - is not a complete list of diseases that the smoker pays for his addiction to tobacco.

The modern person, as a rule, uses more calories, than it is necessary for normal vital activity. Entered into the body in an excessive amount of nutrients are not completely consumed because of low physical activity and stored in the form of fat. Obesity is developing.

Obesity is extremely unfavorable for the activity of many organs and systems of the body. A sharp increase in body weight increases the work of the heart, since fatty tissue needs delivery of oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, in obese individuals, the heart should perform more cuts per minute than normal, which leads to a worsening of its pumping function.

In obesity, breathing is severely impaired. In obese people, the diaphragm is usually raised, which complicates the work of the heart and lungs. With a decrease in respiratory excursions of the diaphragm, the gas exchange processes deteriorate substantially and dyspnea occurs even with insignificant stress.

In people with overweight, blood pressure rises about 10 times more often. There is a direct relationship between the degree of obesity in increasing blood pressure. Obese people are twice as likely to have ischemic heart disease as compared to people with normal weight. Obesity significantly aggravates the course of angina and the prognosis of myocardial infarction. Sudden death with obesity occurs twice as often as with normal body weight. Most often develop diabetes and cholelithiasis, pneumonia.

One of the significant risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease is hypodynamia. The level of physical activity in our days has decreased not only among the townspeople, but also among the inhabitants of rural areas due to the reduction of physical labor both in industry and in agriculture. With physical activity, blood circulation significantly improves, energy costs of the body increase, appetite decreases, which prevents the development of obesity. Constant moderate physical loads adapt the person and to emotional loads. Moderate and constant muscle tension has a calming effect on the central nervous system, which is very important in the prevention of hypertensive and coronary heart disease. Physical activity leads to an intensification of metabolism, promotes the utilization of fats and lowering the level of cholesterol in the blood, which helps prevent cardiovascular diseases.

The detuned heart of a little moving person has a small margin of safety, even a small physical load causes shortness of breath, palpitation, fatigue, inability to work. Such a heart is also very sensitive to nervous influences, especially to stresses, and causes a greater susceptibility of these people to atherosclerosis of coronary arteries and coronary heart disease.

Already Aristotle believed that "nothing so exhausts and does not destroy a person as a prolonged physical inaction."

Decreased physical activity, without a doubt, is a "risk factor", predisposing to the development of cardiovascular diseases. In modern man, like his ancestor, muscles make up to 40% of body weight. However, if 100 years ago 94% of all work on movement, provision of food, in everyday life was carried out by the strength of the human muscles, now physical labor accounts for only 1% of this work, and the remaining 99% are performed by machines. This dramatically changes the mind set for physical work, leads to the accumulation in the body of carbohydrates, cholesterol, fatty acids, etc., which is especially negative when braking( without physical relaxation) stressful situations.

Physical activity strengthens inhibition processes in the central nervous system, reduces the possibility of neurosis. With the accumulation of negative emotions neutralize them allows for physical exercise before fatigue. The decrease in physical activity nowadays takes on considerable importance due to a sharp change in the professional profile( an increase in the number of people in "sedentary" occupations), a significant increase in the loads on the nervous system, the impact of a huge flow of information, a change in the character of rest( cinema, television, reading), andalso nutrition with excessive consumption of calories, table salt, the predominance of foods rich in sugar, animal protein and fat. With a decrease in physical activity, the endocrine system, internal organs are disrupted, the function of the gastrointestinal tract( digestion, peristalsis) worsens, intestinal atony, constipation, flatulence are observed. And I want to emphasize once again that especially sharp changes develop in the cardiovascular system.

However, despite the understanding of the benefits of physical education and the increase in the number of poster calls, very few people, especially those over the age of 40, are engaged in it regularly. People prefer to prefer what they are currently pleasant and interesting, but not what is useful. And it is a great pity that you have to pay for it with health.

After all, under the influence of physical activity, the body weight( due to fat) decreases, as well as the triglycerides, fatty acids and cholesterol in the blood, which prevents the progression of atherosclerosis. Of great importance is the psychological aspect of physical training: new interests arise, nervous tension is removed, people are distracted from worries, grief and thoughts connected with the disease, the spirit rises, confidence in the favorable outcome of the disease grows.

There are many examples of how physical training helped people maintain health and performance for years to come. Thus, Turgenev was fond of rowing and swimming until the last days of his life. Goethe made long trips on foot.

Any physical exercises slow the process of age-related changes in the body. Rational forms of motor activity normalize metabolism, improve the regulation of vascular tone and the work of the heart muscle."Muscular joy" called IP Pavlov sense of recovery and vivacity, which experienced as a result of labor. On this occasion he wrote: "All my life I have loved and love mental labor and physical and, perhaps, even more than the second. And especially I feel satisfied when I made some good guess at the last, that is, I connected my head with my hands. "

Increasing muscle tone, giving a rush of vigor, improving the metabolism and blood supply of tissues, normalizing the redox processes in the brain, physical exercises are an effective means of preventing sclerotic changes.

I hope that the men who read this article realized that after 10 years they may have a number of specific problems-related to natural( physiological) changes in the body, with diseases that they themselves have in their way of life or indifference to healthcaused, problems caused by very often prejudices, psychological barriers, which they erected to themselves. And this means that one must be prepared for their clever overcoming, patient transition to a healthy lifestyle that will help prolong youth and postpone old age.