Stages of ageing in the senior years

Ross Woods, 2019

This schema describes some of the more prominent features of different stages of old age. Being descriptive, it mentions what commonly occurs. It does not say what must happen, as if any characteristics were compulsory. Neither does it mean that characteristics always fit neatly into stages or that characteristics can only occur in the stage in which they are listed.

People progress through the stages at various rates. Some go through all stages before they reach seventy, while others reach ninety and more before reaching the later stages.

First stage: Perhaps still at work

• I can’t do the things I once could do.
• As the world changes, I find it more difficult to adjust.
• Tends to see cycles rather than progress. Younger people think something is new, but I’ve seen it before. It was called something different then.
• I’m still busy but I get tired more easily.

Second stage: Recently retired

• Tends to spend more time reminiscing
• Still busy but most work is either hobbies, voluntary work, or helping the family
• Focusses on familiy, especially children and grandchilren
• Likes to travel

Third stage: Starting to have limitations

• Poorer short term memory
• Deafness
• Increasingly difficult to go out at night
• Increasing difficulty in making decisions
• Falls asleep more easily
• Tends toward a simpler lifestyle

Fourth stage: Limitations are more serious

• Increasing number of peers who die
• Reduced cognitive ability
• Strong preference for familiar routines and surroundings
• The world is a smaller place; the circle of friends is smaller and one is less interested in travel.

Fifth stage: The final decline

• Increasing focus on getting different kinds of medical care
• Declining health, either predominantly physical or mental
• Death is the inevitable outcome.