Positive thinking leads to better aging
A new study shows that seniors with a positive attitude toward aging have healthier bodies and minds.
The study from the from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), at Trinity College Dublin found that adults with negative attitudes walk slower and scored less in cognitive tests in just two years, compared to their optimistic counterparts.
Frail seniors can also change a lot by lightening up. Pessimistic frail seniors were more at risk to health complications and had worse cognition. Frails seniors who were optimistic despite their condition had the same cognitive abilities than healthier peers.
Lead researcher Dr Deirdre Robertson commented: “The way we think about, talk about and write about ageing may have direct effects on health. Everyone will grow older and if negative attitudes towards ageing are carried throughout life they can have a detrimental, measurable effect on mental, physical and cognitive health.”
Principal Investigator of TILDA, Professor Rose Anne Kenny, added: “Researchers and policy makers can work together to develop and implement societal-wide interventions to target attitudes and perhaps, ultimately, find novel ways of maintaining health in later life.”
