Did you know that if you ask doctors and scientists what the specific markers of age are, they would tell you there are none. None they can measure reliably - or even unreliably - to estimate someone’s age.
Most of us assume that certain things go along with ageing:
loss of strength and physical capabilities
development of arthritis and chronic pain
poorer immunity
loss of memory and mental acuity
hypertension, heart disease, cancer, oh my!
And, in general, increasing frailty as the years go by.
Sure, all the conditions mentioned above can occur more with age, but they are not caused by age. If they were, you could count on them occurring in most if not all people as they age. But they don’t.
“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”
Let me say that again. The probability of certain conditions and diseases occurring as you age may statistically increase. But they are not necessarily caused by the ageing process.
And no-one can reliably say what the “ageing process” actually is...
The Counterclockwise study
In the early 80s there was a study published by Professor Ellen Langer of Harvard University. It's called the Counterclockwise Study.
Elderly men were placed in an environment where they were surrounded with things from 20 years ago - pictures, music, food, magazines, newspapers, movies. They were asked to conduct themselves as though they were back in 1959. They were told not to talk about anything that occurred after 1959. They were to discuss music, literature, movies, and current events from 1959 as though they were occurring now.
In contrast, a control group was surrounded by the same memorabilia from 1959, but were asked to reminisce about that time.
The researchers measured hearing, vision, manual dexterity, and memory. All improved in the group that conducted themselves as though it were the late 50s.
“Ageing is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.”
The control group did not improve, and some actually demonstrated deterioration. The idea was to trick the mind into associating back to a time 20 years ago. And to see if the body would change too. It did.
They repeated the study in other countries with similar results each time. Other studies have shown that the beliefs we hold about ageing will influence how we age.
When we are young, we hear that old age goes hand in hand with physical frailty, senility, poor quality of life, etc. So we internalise those beliefs. Then, when we reach old age, we will apply those beliefs to our own circumstances and expect to become frail and dependent.
If we develop views of old age as being a time of ongoing growth and vitality, we will expect to remain healthy, active and capable into old age. And we probably will.
This shows our thoughts, beliefs and expectations shape the way our bodies function. It also makes us question what images of old age are we surrounded by? And what can we do to foster positive beliefs about ageing?
“I have reached an age when, if someone tells me to wear socks, I don’t have to.”
Being mindful
This is about the process of being mindful. I’ve talked about mindfulness and about mindset and health before, but let’s have another look at it.
Ellen Langer talks about the contrast between living mindlessly and applying mindfulness to your life. In this context, mindfulness is not the same as the eastern philosophical principle you can practice with meditation. It is about being aware of novelty from moment to moment, and retaining awareness of circumstance and context.
Mindlessly approaching old age, with negative beliefs about growing old, may result in self-fulfilling prophecies. You may find yourself focussing on a moment of forgetfulness, then assume that you are losing your memory. But it may not signify that at all.
There is increasing evidence that our mindset has a stronger influence on our physiology than we have thought. Such worries and fears may result in the very declining health that we want to avoid.
This is a big topic! And I can’t really hope to do it justice in a few paragraphs. Let’s boil it down to this - be careful, deliberate and conscious about the beliefs you choose about ageing and your health.
Ellen Langer on mindfulness
If you want to delve into this deeper, check out Ellen Langer talking about mindfulness. She talks specifically about mindsets and health from about 13:30 onwards.
Ellen Langer’s books are also worth a read: “Mindfulness” and “Counterclockwise”.
Mindset: further reading
This article is part of a series about how our attitudes, beliefs and mindset can affect our health.
There is a fascinating and growing body of evidence that there is a much stronger relationship between our minds and our bodies than perhaps we have been led to believe.
I hope that these articles stimulate some new thoughts and ideas for you, or perhaps shore up what you already knew.
Read more: