What Do You Believe About Aging?

Studies published in Psychology and Ageing have uncovered interesting results about how people’s beliefs impact on their own ageing process. Researchers found a fear of ageing and the common negative stereotypes one may believe regarding the process could directly influence how that person ages.

The findings were compiled at the Yale School of Public Health. They looked at healthy individuals without dementia who were part of the oldest scientific study of ageing, initiated in 1958.

Each of them answered to a set of questions involving statements such as “older people are absent minded” and “older people have trouble learning new things.”

25 years after those questions were originally posed, the study subjects were about 68 years old and began undergoing MRI brain scans of their hippocampus. A loss of volume loss in the hippocampus is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Interestingly, those who initially agreed more with the negative stereotypes regarding ageing were far more likely to experience greater volume loss in their hippocampus. The ‘negative thinkers’ lost the same amount of volume in three years than the more positive thinkers regarding ageing lost in nine years!

These results were consistent over all areas of the study when the brains of subjects were examined during autopsy. Those who held negative beliefs about ageing were significantly more likely to face brain disorders as they aged, which was evidenced by the higher amount of plaques and tangles in their brains.

What can we do about it? A sense of self worth and belief is extremely important. Society has falsely proposed that ageing is a negative thing – but the alternative is not being here at all – which is certainly not the alternative most of us would choose! Find things to appreciate about yourself and older people in your family. Continue to learn, open your mind and be receptive to new ideas. Certainly there are challenges associated with ageing, but would you really want to be a teenager again? A life well lived is one whee you are able to enjoy and appreciate each state.  Start ageing well today.