How do you feel about getting older? As inevitable as it is, many people struggle with the idea of aging, despite it being a blessing. Now, if youβre one of those people who dread their birthdays, might we suggest that you change your outlook? Not because you canβt prevent it, but because a new study has found that holding positive beliefs about aging can help to improve brain health.Β
What Are Your Feelings About Aging?
According to Dr. Becca Levy. Ph.D., director of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division, and an associate professor at the Yale School of Public Health, positive beliefs about aging may play a role in cognitive recovery amongst older people.
As nearly half of older people with mild cognitive impairment regain normal cognition, Levy set out to determine ifΒ older people with positive age beliefs may be more likely to recover from mild cognitive impairment.
For the study, Levy and her team analyzed the data of 1,716 individuals who were 78 years old on average. The persons, 55.5% of whom were female, either had a normal cognitive function or mild cognitive impairment.
The participants were asked to answer questions about their feelings towards aging, having to answer questions on a scale of how much they agreed or disagreed with statements, like βThe older I get, the more useless I feel.β
According to their data, 35.5% of the people held positive age beliefs, whilst 64.5% held negative age beliefs.
Positive Age Beliefs Equals Healthier Brain
Per the findings, which were published in the JAMA Network Open, individuals with positive age beliefs were, at baseline, less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment over the next 12 years than those who held negative beliefs about aging.
Additionally, those that had mild cognitive impairment but held positive-age beliefs were 30 percent more likely to recover lost memory function – regardless of how severe their mild cognitive impairment was at the start of the study.
If thatβs not enough, the study also found that the positive-age belief group was less likely to have chronic disease and depression, as well as less likely to often feel isolated.
βConsidering that positive age beliefs can be strengthened, our findings suggest that age-belief interventions at individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery.βΒ
Why does positivity cause better aging?
According to a study from the Boston University School of Medicine, people who are optimistic not only have an 11 to 15% longer life span, but theyβre also 50 to 70% more likely to reach the age of 85.Β
Speaking on Dr. Levyβs recent findings, psychologist Thea Gallagher, Psy. D. told Prevention that if you view age as a limiting factor, then youβre likely going to meet whatever ceiling you place on yourself. However, βIf you donβt believe that, maybe it can even help change the function of your brain.β
Dr. Levy echoed these statements, speaking on previous research that examined the impact of ageism,
βWe found that those with more positive age beliefs tend to have lower stress levels and tend to engage in better health behaviors. Those factors can continue to better cognition or cognitive health,β she said to Prevention.
Do I have to be positive to age well?
As positive as the studyβs findings are, we should point out that it did not prove that positive thinking can cure mild cognitive impairment. Rather, it found an association between positive age beliefs and recovery from mild cognitive impairment.
Additionally, participants who held negative beliefs about aging likely held those because they were dealing with age-related conditions like Alzheimerβs disease. This likely affected their views on getting older.Β
Maintaining brain health as you age
A positive mindset isnβt the only way you can protect your brain health as the years go by. According to the National Institute of Aging, you can adopt some of the following habits to keep your brain healthy and sharp:
- Learn a new skill
- Follow a daily routine
- Exercise
- Eat well
- Stay away from alcohol
- Spend time with loved ones
- VolunteerΒ
Bottom line
Weβre all going to get older, and if weβre lucky, weβre going to go on to live a long and healthy life. This is especially true if weβre positive about celebrating our next birthday. Thereβs nothing wrong with getting older and aging, and we need to work hard against holding ageist beliefs. To start, Levy recommends keeping a journal so that you can manage your thinking around aging.Β
βKeep an age-belief journal and become more aware of what is said about older people, as well as whether theyβre included in conversations or not,β she says. βDoing that for a week can be a beneficial first step.β
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: Evgeny Bakharev/Shutterstock
References
Lee, L. O., James, P., Zevon, E. S., Kim, E. S., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Spiro, A., 3rd, Grodstein, F., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2019). Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women.Β Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,Β 116(37), 18357β18362. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900712116
Levy, B. R., & Slade, M. D. (2023). Role of Positive Age Beliefs in Recovery From Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Older Persons.Β JAMA network open,Β 6(4), e237707. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.7707