Pessimists May Live Longer
http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/02/health/age-self-fulfilling-prophecy/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13
Here are five powerful benefits of "pro-aging" thinking:
It can help you live longer. In 2001, researchers from Yale and Harvard University looked at 660 participants
between the ages of 50 and 80 who participated in a community-based
survey, the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement. They
measured how self-perception of aging impacted survival over the course
of 22.6 years. They found that participants who held a more positive
attitude about their own aging -- such as continuing to feel useful and
happy -- lived, on average, 7.5 years longer.
In fact, they found that
perception of aging influenced longevity even more than blood pressure,
cholesterol, body mass index, or a person's tendency to exercise.
It can reduce disability. Loss
of independence is among the greatest fears most people have about
getting older. Staying physically and cognitively active can defend
against disability. Yet less emphasized is the role of your belief about
your own aging. In a study published in the Journal of Gerontology:
Psychological Sciences, participants in the Ohio Longitudinal Study of
Aging and Retirement who held a positive self-perception of aging had a
greater ability to carry out daily activities over an 18-year period,
regardless of their functional health at the start of the study.
It can help you practice prevention.
Preventive habits have been proven to continually improve health and
quality of life at every age, yet older adults are less likely to engage
in preventive behaviors. Misconceptions about aging, such as believing
that heart disease is inevitable, can weaken the motivation to follow a
preventive lifestyle. Similarly, a negative perception of aging may
adversely influence your habits. In a 2004 study,
the participants in the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement
who had more positive perceptions of aging were significantly more
likely to have physical exams, eat a balanced diet, exercise and take
prescriptions as directed over a 20-year period.
It can boost your memory. Be careful what you think. According to The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, the longest-running study
of memory and aging, expecting memory decline can actually contribute
to memory loss over time. Over a 38-year period, participants 60 years
of age and older who held more negative stereotypes of cognitive aging
had a 30.2% greater decline in memory performance than those who held
less negative stereotypes about memory and aging.
It can help your heart. Lastly, believing in negative age stereotypes
can increase your risk of heart disease. When negative stereotypes are
formed early in life, they can have a profound impact on health decades
later. In a study from participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study
of Aging, young adults who held negative age stereotypes were
significantly more likely to experience a cardiovascular event over the
next 38 years. However, by making a significant positive change in their
stereotype of aging, of two standard deviations on an administered
age-stereotype scale, these young adults could reduce their risk of
experiencing a cardiovascular event by 80%.
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