Thinking is important. It is important to perceive your age positively.
Research shows that your health depends on how you feel about aging. If you do not consider yourself young in old age, this can lead to disastrous consequences, Chronicle.info reports with reference to Focus.
The Guardian has published an excerpt from David Robson's new book & # 171; The Expectation Effect: How Your Way of Thinking Can Change Your Life & # 187 ;. This British writer specializes in research on the human brain, body and behavior. According to him, if all older people adopted a positive attitude towards old age, it would become a powerful & # 171; elixir of life & # 187 ;. Referring to a variety of scientific studies, the author argues that people who see the potential for personal growth during aging tend to have much better health in their 70s, 80s and 90s than people who associate aging with helplessness and decline in vitality. And this affects their health and longevity.
& # 171; Our thoughts can affect our aging and longevity & # 187; — says Robson.
One of the studies devoted to the fact that our thinking affects our life and the aging process was an experiment by psychologist Ellen Langer from Harvard University. Back in 1979, she gathered a group of 70 and 80-year-olds and sent them to the monastery premises for a week, where objects and the general atmosphere of 1959 were recreated. Everything was handpicked with historical precision: music, films, furniture, newspapers and magazines. Langer and her colleagues asked the participants in the experiment to live as if it were 1959. Respondents were also asked to discuss current political and sporting events twice a day. The purpose of the experiment was to awaken the participants' sense of youth by using all these associations.
Following the results of the experiment, the researchers conducted a survey that showed that 63% of respondents changed their perception of their age. Tests showed that they had sharper eyesight and more flexibility in their joints, as some of the inflammation caused by arthritis had receded.
Another study by Becca Levy of the Yale School of Public Health involved more than 1,000 people from Ohio, USA. As part of the study, the scientist conducted a study of the perception of aging and its effect on life expectancy.
The average age of the participants in the experiment was 63 years. As a result of a multi-year experiment that began back in 1975, Levy found that those people who were more positive about the aging process lived on average 22.6 years after the start of the study. And those who perceived old age as the final stage of life lived on average 15 years.
One recent study also shows that there is a link between the perception of aging and the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Those who have a positive attitude towards their age and do not perceive old age as the end of their life path are half as likely to get Alzheimer's & # 187 ;, — writes Robson in his book.
If a person considers himself weak and helpless in old age and not capable of anything, this directly affects his physical health. The risk of rapid heart disease and other illnesses is increased, says Robson.
& # 171; People need to rethink how they age. Various studies show that our way of thinking can be changed. By learning to reject fatalistic beliefs and appreciate some of the positive changes that come with age, we can avoid the stressful reactions that come with negative age stereotypes, and we can be more motivated to exercise our body and mind and live fulfilling lives & # 187; — the author writes.