You may have heard the adage that “age is just a number and we shouldn’t let it define us or hold us back. We know that lifestyle factors contribute to how slow or fast we age and it’s hard to completely factor out the role of genetics. But what role does mindset, attitude, and our beliefs about aging play?
Unfortunately, mindset and its role in aging hasn’t been the focus of research to the degree that health issues like heart disease and cancer have. However, small studies give us data to further explore. These studies raise the possibility that the power of our thoughts may hold the key to a healthier, more vibrant life.
How We Perceive Aging
The views people have on aging, whether they embrace it with a smile or dread it, depends on the social environment they grew up in, their experiences with the elderly, and how people they’re close to treat older people. Some people see growing older as a gain in wisdom, not just a loss of youth. Research shows these factors impact how people think about and approach aging:
- Part of the world. Certain areas of the world view aging differently than others. For example, the French are more accepting of aging and have a more positive attitude about it than Western countries.
- Level of education. People who are more educated are more likely to have the resources (nutritious food, access to exercise facilities, and healthcare) to be more proactive about aging.
- Health status. People who have chronic health issues have a more negative perception of aging.
- Social ties. People who are isolated and have fewer social contacts have a more negative view of aging.
The Mind-Body Connection: How Our Thoughts Influence Aging
If you’re not convinced that mindset plays a role in aging, maybe this will sway you. Harvard psychologist and researcher Ellen Langer conducted an intriguing study called the Counterclockwise Experiment. For this study, a group of older men took part. They were told to pretend and act as if they were living two decades in the past. During the study, they lived in a setting designed to look like it was 20 years earlier.
The researchers also treated them as if they were younger, not offering them assistance with activities, so they were forced to behave as if they were younger too. With this shift in mindset and living environment, the men experienced measurable improvements in hearing, vision, memory, cognition, the ability to taste, strength, and gait. Even their physical appearance changed and people who looked at their photos judged them to be younger!
According to research, it’s not just genetics and cellular mechanisms that control aging, although these factors play a role. According to the growing field of epigenetics, environmental factors slow down or speed up these processes too by modifying gene expression. Could mindset, through epigenetic factors, also modify genes that control aging?
One study found that people who felt positive about aging lived an average of 7 years longer than those with negative views on growing older. Although this doesn’t show direct cause and effect, it raises the question of whether mindset and attitude affect how we age.
Debunking Aging Stereotypes: Embracing a Growth Mindset
To have a more positive mindset about aging, we must let go of the negative stereotypes about aging that are so common in society, as these myths can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Research disputes the idea that a loss of physical and mental functioning is an inevitable part of aging. With a healthy lifestyle, older people can retain their intellectual skills throughout life. It’s a “use or lose it” situation. It applies to physical functioning too. Being physically active and working your muscles against resistance are the key to being physically functional later in life.
Strategies for Cultivating a Positive Aging Mindset
Now, let’s explore the practicalities of slowing aging through mindset. Here are some ways to put positivity into action:
- Don’t let your inner dialogue bring you down. Consciously work toward changing negative thoughts to positive ones. When a negative thought enters your mind, silently (or out loud), say “stop.” Then reframe it to a more positive one.
- Challenge your mind with stimulating activities that help build new neural connections. Why not learn a new language or learn to play an instrument? Rather than watching television, work a challenging puzzle.
- Exercise is a must for staying fit and functioning and for slowing the aging process. Exercise clearly shows that exercise improves lifespan and health span, the number of disease and disability-free years you live.
- Form social connections. Areas of the world where people have exceptional longevity, like the blue zones, live in close-knit communities and enjoy lots of human contact.
- Express gratitude. Being aware of the good things in your life and acknowledging them will help shift your mindset toward one of abundance.
- Have a purpose. Use retirement to discover your passions and live them. Having goals gives you purpose
Embracing the Power of Mindset for a Vibrant, Fulfilling Life
Mindset matters! Positivity won’t completely halt the aging process, it’s more complicated than that. There is evidence that a more positive approach to aging may slow the process. So, it’s up to us to challenge negative stereotypes about aging and fight ageism.
The outlook we have influences how much we enjoy living and may subtly influence the aging process itself. So, make sure you’re stimulating your mind through social activities and engagement and your body through exercise. Skip the negative mindset and approach aging with sense of optimism, curiosity, and resilience. After all, as the saying goes, “You’re only as old as you feel!”
References:
- https://www.facebook.com/NIHAging. “Goal B: Better Understand the Effects of Personal, Interpersonal, and Societal Factors on Aging, Including the Mechanisms through Which These Factors Exert Their Effects.” National Institute on Aging, 2020. https://www.nia.nih.gov/about/aging-strategic-directions-research/goal-behavioral-psychological-factors.
- Pagnini F, Cavalera C, Volpato E, Comazzi B, Vailati Riboni F, Valota C, Bercovitz K, Molinari E, Banfi P, Phillips D, Langer E. Ageing as a mindset: a study protocol to rejuvenate older adults with a counterclockwise psychological intervention. BMJ Open. 2019 Jul 9;9(7):e030411. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030411. PMID: 31289097; PMCID: PMC6615788.
- Friedman, Lauren F. “Ellen Langer’s Reversing Aging Experiment.” Business Insider. Insider, April 6, 2015. https://www.businessinsider.com/ellen-langers-reversing-aging-experiment-2015-4.
- Breeding, Brad, and Brad Breeding. “A Positive Aging Mindset May Slow or Even Reverse the Aging Process | MyLifeSite.” myLifeSite, June 14, 2021. https://mylifesite.net/blog/post/a-positive-aging-mindset-may-slow-or-even-reverse-the-aging-process/.
- Levy BR, et al. (2018). A culture-brain link: Negative age stereotypes predict Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Psychology and Aging, 33(2), 203-213.
- Bellingtier JA, Neupert SD. (2018). Negative aging attitudes predict greater reactivity to daily stressors in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 73(7), 1155-1159.
- Wurm S, et al. (2017). How do negative self-perceptions of aging become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Psychology and Aging, 32(8), 654-667.
- Chopik WJ, et al. (2021). Changes in subjective age as a function of subjective health and depressive symptoms: A 10-year longitudinal study. Psychology and Aging, 36(1), 118-127.
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