disengagement and ego-integrity may offer tools helping the elderly or ill deal with the prospect of death but it is thought that continuity theory offers more profound insights when trying to fully understand the true meaning of reminiscence theory. a passage from lin illustrates the concept of continuity the best "as individuals move from one stage to the next and encounter changes in their lives, they attempt to order and interpret changes by recalling their pasts. this provides an important sense of continuity and facilitates adaptation. change is linked to the person’s perceived past, producing continuity in inner psychological characteristics and in social behavior and social circumstances." reminiscence can provide a mechanism by which individuals adapt to changes that occur throughout life continuity theory requires the effective use of remote memory. reminiscence processes occur in this type of memory which is usually the last memory system to deteriorate. research has found that frequent exercise of this system improves general cognitive function.