Thinking Positively About Aging Extends Life. Positive self-perceptions about aging can prolong life expectancy.
Thinking positively about aging and getting older extends one’s life by seven-and-one half years. This is more than the longevity gained from low blood pressure or low cholesterol or by maintaining a healthy weight, abstaining from smoking and exercising regularly, a study by Yale University researchers have found.
“We found that those individuals who reported more positive self perceptions of aging demonstrated significantly longer survival than those who reported more negative self perceptions of aging,” said Becca Levy, assistant professor in the Yale University Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.
Researchers found that those respondents with more positive views on aging live longer, even after taking into account factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, functional health, self-reported health and loneliness.
“We found that the median survival of those in the more positive self perceptions of aging group was 7.6 years longer than those in the more negative aging self stereotype group,” the authors said.
The effects of positive attitudes about aging had a greater impact on longevity than low blood pressure and cholesterol, each of which is associated with a longer life span of about four years.
Positive attitudes about aging also had a greater impact on longevity than lower body mass index, not smoking and regular exercise – each of which extends life by one to three years.
“Our study carries two messages,” the authors said. “The discouraging one is that negative self perceptions can diminish life expectancy; the encouraging one is that positive self-perceptions can prolong life expectancy.”
References: