Become a Believer!
Recent Yale research indicates that a large percentage of aging adults improve as they grow older. Our attitudes have so much to do with how we experience and move through the world. Most of us probably were taught this truth as we were growing up; or maybe, as an adult, we were reminded by a mentor to approach life and work with hope and confidence.
In a recently published long-term study conducted by Yale University, researchers confirmed that positive beliefs can significantly boost the overall health of older adults. The study found that 45% of adults over 65 improved physically, mentally, or both over time. Aging adults with more positive attitudes about getting older were more likely to show these gains. This suggests that society should flip the prevailing narrative—the myth that our later years are typically associated with inevitable and steady declines in health. Instead, advanced years can lead to advanced health and capabilities.
These improvements in cognitive function and/or physical function in later life are not confined to a limited class or segment of our society. The correlation between positive beliefs and improved health remained strong even after adjusting for factors such as age, sex, education, chronic disease, and depression.
Read what Becca R. Levy, lead author of the study and professor of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) concluded:
Many people equate aging with an inevitable and continuous loss of physical and cognitive abilities. What we found is that improvement in later life is not rare, it’s common, and it should be included in our understanding of the aging process.
Our findings suggest there is often a reserve capacity for improvement in later life.
And because age beliefs are modifiable, this opens the door to interventions at both the individual and societal level.”
The authors of the Yale study point out that the findings support greater investments in preventive care, rehabilitation programs, and other health-related assistance for older adults. Levy presents an in-depth look at how attitudes affect aging in her book: Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long & How Well You Live.