AGE RELATED EYE PROBLEMS

With the advances in technology health care and education has been able to increase man’s life expectancy. What used to be 35 years a century ago has reached 100 years today in several developed countries. Increased awareness about birth control has put many nations into a worrying situation wherein the whole population is aging without a proportionate increase of the younger generation. This is resulting in a disproportionate increase of the aging population. When I visited a geriatric nursing home (200 bedded) in Japan a few years ago, it was very a touching scene wherein it was all full of long term patients above the age of 80 who were either demented and or physically disabled requiring total care. Their worry is that almost 60-70 % of their population would be above the geriatric age (65years) in the next ten  years. How to maintain the quality of life of the aging population and prevent dementia and other problems is a topic of intense research round the globe by several researchers starting from sociologists to molecular biologists.

The cell biologists have discovered that all cells in our body go through a programmed cell renewal according to a set program of its own life span. For example some white blood cells may live for 5 days, red blood cells live for 100 days, liver cells for ten days etc. It is only the nerve cells in the brain which cannot be renewed and can live for almost   50 to 60 years. To make up for this, nature has provided enough redundancy and the other unused nerve cells take over the functions of the dying nerve cell so that all  functions including learning and memory  can go on and on.  The problem of aging results if the rate of this handing over of the functions is delayed and memory is the first one to be affected.

Research on this cell renewal cycle has pointed out that this program of cell cycle can be influenced by stress. The rate of programmed cell death called Apoptosis fluctuates with the state of our mind. Starting from dangerous physical stressors like nuclear radiation right up to a simple thought of  worrying for half an hour about the son not reaching home on time, can increase the rate of apoptosis. Long term worry and the concept of aging can reset the program itself so that the aging speeds up. For example   after retirement when one repeatedly dwells on the thought  that he or she has become aged and feels depressed that he is unwanted in the society it enhances the rate of cell death disproportionately . Have we not seen  several examples of people turning grey hair, developing heart disease or becoming demented  within a few weeks after the demise of a beloved spouse?.
What is the role of Yoga ?
 Yoga is all about the mind. If a thought of retirement or distress can make the cells die or age faster, can we not use the same to prevent or reverse the process? Laughter and happiness has been demonstrated to be the rejuvenator of this programmed cell cycle. There are several recommended techniques such as involvement in sports, laughter clubs, changing the profession after retirement to promote new learning etc to prevent aging and help people to remain young.

Yoga is a direct method of understanding and using the power of thought with full awareness to prevent this imbalance in the cell cycle. Healthy parenting with examples and stories of right living with moral values from childhood, learning through memorizing, promotion of harmonious child development in school through equal importance to art, music, and sports in education curriculum will set the system right from the beginning. In teens and adult hood as one goes through the speed of life, taking enough time for practice of yoga asanas and relaxation techniques is the corner stone in prevention of aging.