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May 20th, 2023| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

They say you are only as old as you feel. It is not only “they” who say this. But respectable scientists from the University of Greifswald, Germany, affirm this to be the case. They said so in “Gain- but not Loss-Related Self-Perceptions Of Aging Predict Mortality Over A Period Of 23 Years: A Multidimensional Approach,” published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

This study began a long time ago. In 1996, 2,400 participants in the ”German Ageing Survey,” then aged between 40 and 85, were asked about their views on aging. Over the following 23 years documentation was made of who died and when, with a total of 871 people deceased.

And guess what?

Our study now provides evidence on a larger scale for Germany that people who perceive aging as a process of development live as much as 13 years longer.”

Psychological (subjective) age affects chronological (objective) age!

Lead author Dr. Susanne Wurm:

It is really good and important to feel younger. It is soft protection. If I feel younger, I am more motivated to be engaged and active.”

And that gets these young-feeling folks to participate in new experiences, such as traveling or taking classes, and to resist negative assumptions about getting older. And those negative assumptions, making one feel older than your chronological age, on the other hand, is associated with a higher likelihood of dementia, frailty, stroke and heart disease. Earlier death!

Dr. Becca Levy, professor of epidemiology and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health, agreed:

Age beliefs are quite malleable. They are not set in stone. It is possible to shift your attitude about getting older.”

It is probably true that being in good health is a big reason why many people might feel younger than they are—and therefore might live longer. But many scientists now believe it also works the other way: those with a younger and more optimistic sense of aging might be more apt to take care of themselves, and keep themselves healthy—and, again, might live longer.

People who feel older might generate more stress, too, whether they are 30 and fretting about early signs of wrinkles or 65 and concerned that co-workers think they are losing their edge. Indeed those who feel older than their actual age have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol and C reactive protein, an inflammatory marker associated with heart disease and other illnesses.

So: Take classes. Travel. Attend workshops. Spend time with friends who have positive attitudes about aging. Spend time with people younger than you by joining a hobby group or book club. (Apparently, it isn’t helpful to be in a group where you are cast in the role of wise elder, or resource person. While flattering, it can make you feel older.) Don’t assume that common slip-ups are necessarily signs of cognitive failure. Everyone loses their car keys. Most people have had the experience of being unable to locate their cars after a grocery trip.

But above all, walk with God.

By Yahweh one’s steps are established,
and in His path he delights.
Though he fall, he will not be thrown down,
for Yahweh supports his hand.
I was young, [now] also old,
but I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
or his descendants seeking bread.
Turn aside from evil and do good,
and abide forever.
For Yahweh, He loves justice and does not forsake His devout;
they are kept unto forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
The righteous will possess the land
and abide in it always.
Psalm 37:23–25, 27–29

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal