Ageing Gracefully in Today's Society

There is a worldwide growth in populations of people aged 55 years and over. India's older population will increase dramatically over the next four decades. It is a positive fact that longevity has increased. Ageing is often associated with many rewarding experiences. It is however also a time when significant changes might occur and poses challenges. Positive ageing, in this context connotes sustaining within oneself, a positive attitude towards ageing. This attitude helps in combating negative feelings towards the gradually debilitating conditions, so that an adult can step into another phase of his life full of zest and positive energy. The terms positive ageing, ageing gracefully, successful ageing and ageing well are terms that can be used interchangeably. The positive ageing movement is about striving to create a society for all ages that prepares for and celebrates the ageing process. Positive ageing is not difficult and efforts should be made by the government and the broader community to make sure that as people live longer, they continue to lead healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. As an ethical duty to understand and support ageing population, it is the purpose of this paper to explore: 1) conceptual framework of ageing gracefully 2) models and research studies on ageing gracefully 3) factors that affect ageing gracefully 4) Brain plasticity and ageing gracefully 5) various strategies to achieve ageing gracefully.