Ageing: Are we really as young as we feel?

Are we really as young as we feel?

There was a recent BBC documentary called The Young Ones, where six celebrities return to 1975 to explore whether living as their younger selves could make them physically and mentally younger.  This was not your usual throw away 'reality TV show' and is well worth watching if you get the chance to find it on iPlayer.  

The results after the 1st week were remarkable, improvements in cognitive and physical function across the board.

How old???

I often feel that when I focus on my chronological age that I 'feel' my age.  So in all intents and purposes I just don't think about it.  If people are surprised at my age is it because I am just deluding myself, is it good genetics or is the amount of exercise I do that is they key?  

Well - "How old you are matters, but beyond that it's your interpretation that has far-reaching implications for the process of ageing." says research author Markus H. Schafer, a doctoral student in sociology and gerontology.  

The research from Purdue University in Indiana, USA reports that perceiving yourself to be youthful and retaining youthful activities will keep you young far more than just exercise alone.  

Tips to anti-ageing:

The environment we are in, our preconceptions about old people and how we behave can have enormous impact on how we feel about the elderly and how we personally age.

Reserve some time to make exercise playful, laugh more, be nostalgic (rather than being embarrassed about the previous decades), keep pace with current trends and reduce stress - all helps to roll back the years.  

Tag anyone? 

Source: Jan 2010 - Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences - "Age Identity, Gender, and Perceptions of Decline: Does Feeling Older Lead to Pessimistic Dispositions About Cognitive Aging?"