Rightly, sarcopenia is becoming increasingly recognized as a serious health threat to aging populations everywhere. The gradual loss of physical strength can lead to greater risks of injuries, debilitation and overall frailty. Because there is no single cause for this deterioration, countermeasures are to be multifold.

You don't have to be a senior to experience a "senior moment," meaning you forget an otherwise familiar word or name, or can't exactly remember what you planned to do the next minute. It happens throughout life, it just seems to happen more frequently with age. But it's not always due to mental decline in our later years that we lose track of things.

Some studies have shown that open-mindedness, intellectual curiosity and creativity do in fact benefit the aging mind, and may even play a role in longevity. A positive attitude and outlook on life may also factor in. Well-functioning mental capacities may also influence how people age physically.

One of the unfortunate but inevitable effects of aging -- for both men and women -- is that personal care like grooming and makeup seems to require longer and greater efforts. But it remains as important as ever, and so does getting properly and tastefully dressed.

I did not get to usher my parents into old age, or really even into retirement living. My grandparents had all passed away by the time I was 19 years old. I have no direct experience caring for elderly people. As a result, I'm not sure what I can expect my own day-to-day life to look like when I am "old."