Interestingly, it doesn’t matter how intense your workout is. It can also increase brain sensitivity to the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which relieve feelings of depression ( 3).Īdditionally, exercise can increase the production of endorphins, which are known to help produce positive feelings and reduce the perception of pain ( 3). It produces changes in the parts of the brain that regulate stress and anxiety. One criticism of this theory is its emphasis on so-called “normal” aging, which marginalizes those with chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s.Exercise has been shown to improve your mood and decrease feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress ( 2). This is an attempt to maintain social equilibrium and stability by making future decisions on the basis of already developed social roles (Atchley 1971 Atchley 1989). Reformulations of this theory suggest that participation in informal activities, such as hobbies, are what most effect later life satisfaction (Lemon, Bengtson, and Petersen 1972).Īccording to continuity theory, the elderly make specific choices to maintain consistency in internal (personality structure, beliefs) and external structures (relationships), remaining active and involved throughout their elder years. Moreover, not everyone finds fulfillment in the presence of others or participation in activities. Critics of this theory point out that access to social opportunities and activity are not equally available to all. According to this theory, the more active and involved an elderly person is, the happier he or she will be. According to this theory, activity levels and social involvement are key to this process, and key to happiness (Havinghurst 1961 Neugarten 1964 Havinghurst, Neugarten, and Tobin 1968). The social withdrawal that Cummings and Henry recognized (1961), and its notion that elderly people need to find replacement roles for those they’ve lost, is addressed anew in activity theory.
Criticisms typically focus on the application of the idea that seniors universally naturally withdraw from society as they age, and that it does not allow for a wide variation in the way people experience aging (Hothschild 1975). However, the theory is no longer accepted in its classic form. The suggestion that old age was a distinct state in the life course, characterized by a distinct change in roles and activities, was groundbreaking when it was first introduced. Because men focus on work and women focus on marriage and family, when they withdraw they will be unhappy and directionless until they adopt a role to replace their accustomed role that is compatible with the disengaged state (Cummings and Henry 1961). Finally, social withdrawal is gendered, meaning it is experienced differently by men and women. Therefore, this withdrawal allows a greater freedom from the pressure to conform. Second, as the elderly withdraw, they receive less reinforcement to conform to social norms. First, because everyone expects to die one day, and because we experience physical and mental decline as we approach death, it is natural to withdraw from individuals and society. There are several main points to the theory. The earliest gerontological theory in the functionalist perspective is disengagement theory, which suggests that withdrawing from society and social relationships is a natural part of growing old.
\)ĭoes being old mean disengaging from the world? (Photo courtesy of Candida Performa/Wikimedia Commons)
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