Dr. David Snowdon's "Aging with Grace"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Dr. David Snowdon's book "Aging with Grace" represents fascinating insights into the nature of health, disease and the factors that define the realities of daily life. The author points out that this book also describes a groundbreaking research project that studied the health vectors shaping the lives of hundreds of Catholic nuns across life-spans of many decades. The paper stresses the critical methodological importance of the sample group because it allowed the researchers to eliminate many of the variables that complicate and undermine studies of aging and Alzheimer's. The author indicates that the advantage of the sample was that the nuns presented the researchers with detailed records of their lives, health conditions, and intellectual capacities (e.g., written autobiographies) for a large population spanning decades.

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From the Paper:

"Over the course of twelve chapters, complete with pictures and biographies of many of the participants in the study, the author describes how important such practices as reading and emotional stability are to ensuring that the brain has the capacity to repair or "patch" damage over the course of a long life. As the likelihood of Alzheimer's increases with age, one of the surprising findings of this study is that the symptoms of Alzheimer's (e.g., forgetfulness, dementia) often have little to do with the rate of progression of the disease."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chappell, J. (2006). "Health and the health system conceptualization." Course Notes Week Two.
• Snowdon, D. (2001). Aging with grace: What the nun study teaches us about leading longer, healthier, and more meaningful lives. New York: Bantam.

More papers on Dr. David Snowdon's "Aging with Grace":

• Research Paper # 92819 : "Anti-Aging with Herbs & Lifestyle Changes"
• Book Review # 132054 : "Amazing Grace" - A Book Review"
• Book Review # 88072 : "Amazing Grace"

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