Age
If you do that, you’ll live up to 13 years longer
© Flashpop / Getty Images
Eating healthy, not smoking, no alcohol, but sport and exercise – if we stick to all of these, we will make it into old age. But a new study found out what really makes us live longer and has little to do with the above.
Of course, it is logical that we stay healthy longer if we take good care of our body and don’t let it be completely neglected. But giving up all the fun in life? Out of the question! Luckily, a new study is playing us right into the cards. It says that something else is just as important for a long, fulfilling life as the small, daily exercise session or the smoothie bowl for breakfast.
According to the recently published in the journal “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology” According to the published study, psychosocial factors also play a role that should not be underestimated when it comes to our life expectancy. The researchers accompanied 2,400 study participants over a period of 23 years. At the beginning of the study in 1996, the subjects were between 40 and 85 years old. Today, they are correspondingly older or, in 871 cases, have already died.
It all depends on the attitude
The participants were not only asked about their physical fitness, but also about their attitude towards age and aging. A comparison with the lifespan of the subjects showed that those who associate personal goals and plans with aging can live longer – up to 13 years longer.
“Our study now provides evidence for Germany on a larger scale that people who experience aging as a development process even live 13 years longer,” says Prof. Susanne Wurm, head of the Department for Prevention Research and Social Medicine at the Institute for Community Medicine at the University Medical Center Greifswald.
Fit head and fit body
Actually, it is not surprising that the mindset is crucial in addition to physical fitness. It somehow sounds logical that we keep our brains fit and on the go if we still set goals, want to learn and make plans in old age. Conversely, our control center keeps our body running. Of course, sometimes it’s not that easy to see the positive side of life, even as you get older. We may have already suffered losses, health problems or other worries. In addition, aging in our society has negative connotations anyway and we very often see seniors as senile rather than old-age.
“The archenemy of healthy aging is the attitude of limiting yourself because it’s too late for that plan or activity. People learn negative images of aging throughout their lives, and as a result, they tend to apply them to themselves when they are old. It is important to break through this age-based self-discrimination”, says Prof. Dr. Susanne Wurm about her scientific findings.
In the end it’s like this: We only have one life and it doesn’t end at 65. We may never know whether it’s 13 years longer or shorter, but until then we want to fucking enjoy our lives!
Source: www.dmwv.de, www.doi.apa.org