ABSTRACT
As people become older, beyond adulthood, many physical and mental functions tend to decline. Among the most important are sensory perception, psychomotor skills, memory and learning, balance, cardio-respiratory strength and endurance, and muscular strength and endurance. While the exact causes and rates of decline of these functions are debatable, both objective scientific measurements and personal observations indicate clearly that the older population, in general, does not perform many types of tasks as well as younger cohorts. Tasks that require great physical resources, heavy sensory load, a high level of manual dexterity, or rapid responses tend to decline with increasing age in older workers. In the industrial workplace, for example, they require more intense illumination levels than young adults to read and cannot lift loads as heavy as those lifted by their younger cohorts. However, some types of performances tend to improve with age — especially those that require a high level of skill, experience or decision-making.
