Staying young at heart is vital to living your best life. Scientists have found that people who report feeling more youthful than their chronological age are healthier and more psychologically resilient than those who feel as old as their chronological age.
Two academics from University College London examined the responses of over 6,500 men and women who responded to the question, “How old do you feel you are?” The average age of the responders, who ranged in age from 52 to older, was 65.
Their responses:
- 5% of respondents reported feeling more than one year older than their actual age
- 25% of respondents reported feeling close to their actual age
- 70% of respondents reported feeling three or more years younger than their actual age
The intriguing aspect was what occurred next. Eight years after study participants responded to the age question, researchers identified those still alive. Here’s what they found:
- 75% of respondents who felt older than their age were alive
- 82% of respondents who felt their actual age were still alive
- 86% of respondents who felt younger than their actual age were still alive
From this information, it is apparent that feeling younger than your chronological age can affect the length of your life. This makes sense because people have long known that when people feel better about themselves, they take better care of themself. Researchers have even found a strong correlation between self-perceived age and cardiovascular death. The speculation is that feeling younger may result in healthier lifestyle choices.
With this in mind, you may be thinking, “How do I help myself stay young at heart?” Don’t worry. Over the next few weeks, we will provide seven strategies to help you stay young at heart. Here’s the list of topics we will be diving into.
- Move Your Body
- Teach Something
Check back regularly to learn more about each of these topics. Until then, remember to stay young at heart!