If you’re a firm believer in the phrase, “It’s not how old you are, but how you feel,” then you could be adding years to your life. It has been suggested that believing that you’re aging healthily and reframing your ideas around aging could help you live longer.
Studies have shown that those who don’t equate aging with disability and decline, tend to walk faster, perform better on memory tests, and recover quicker from disability compared to those with other mindsets about aging.
It has also been noted that those with a positive outlook on aging tend to live longer and better. If you simply live your best life and enjoy every moment, then you will encourage healthier aging.
Furthermore, having a healthy outlook on aging will prompt you to adhere to healthier aging choices: exercising regularly, eating well, sleeping better, applying sunscreen, managing and reducing stress, quitting smoking, and partaking in things in life that promote happiness.
Those with a positive outlook on aging tend to live longer and better. (Shutterstock)By following these lifestyle habits, you can promote healthier aging and live a life with less disease and disability. On the other hand, if you are fearful or worried about aging, then you may fall into a sinkhole of bad lifestyle habits, which in turn promote unhealthy aging and make your fears into reality.
Therefore, if you want to add years to your life, change your mindset and think of aging differently. Think of aging as a continuum of another year to live and enjoy yourself, not to isolate yourself and become weaker. This can then become your motivation to stick with a healthy lifestyle, which can make your healthy ideals come true, giving you many more years to enjoy your life.
Devon Andre holds a bachelor’s of forensic science from the University of Windsor in Canada and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh. Andre is a journalist for BelMarraHealth, which first published this article.
