Silver surfers Why stick at one age, when you can have two? There’s the age set on your birth certificate, and then there’s the age you think you are. Research has shown that thinking young isn’t simply wishful thinking, it can have a noticeable effect on how well you age as the years go by.
Research from Purdue University in the United States, published in The Journal of Gerontology, has found that feeling that you’re younger than you are can make a big difference to your mental abilities.
"How old you are matters, but beyond that it's your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the process of ageing," said Markus H. Schafer, a doctoral student in sociology and gerontology who led the study.
"So, if you feel old beyond your own chronological years you are probably going to experience a lot of the downsides that we associate with ageing. But if you are older and maintain a sense of being younger, then that gives you an edge in maintaining a lot of the abilities you prize."
It doesn’t mean that you have to spend your evenings clubbing, and start borrowing clothes and skateboards from your grandchildren, it is far more about simply feeling young mentally for your age.
Markus Schafer and his co-author, Tetyana P. Shippee, a research associate on the 'Aging and Life Course' at Purdue University, compared people’s attitudes and their belief in their mental abilities over a ten year period. For the National Survey of Midlife Development in the USA, almost 500 people aged between 55 and 74 were surveyed about ageing in 1995 and again in 2005.
At the beginning of the study participants were asked what age they felt most of the time. Most replied that they felt around 12 years younger than their real age. So what difference did the next 10 years bring?
"We found that these people who felt young for their age were more likely to have greater confidence about their cognitive abilities a decade later," Schafer said. "Yes, chronological age was important, but the subjective age had a stronger effect.
"What we are not sure about is what comes first. Does a person's wellness and happiness affect their cognitive abilities or does a person's cognitive ability contribute to their sense of wellness. We are planning to address this in a future study."
Thinking young is easier said than done, especially if the wear and tear of age has left its mark on us physically. Aches, pains and medication have a habit of bringing us back to reality. Mental exercises such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku are good ways in which to exercise your brain, and keeping up your social life can reduce your stress levels and help to keep your brain healthy.
Markus Schafer suggests trying to keep up with new trends and activities. Getting to grips with new technologies is a good way of keeping a young perspective. Learn how to use a computer if you aren’t already a dab hand at it. Email and Skype friends and family, discover blogging and tweeting and keep thinking younger than you are.
First published March 4, 2010