In our anti-aging obsessed culture, it's easy to fall into the trap of believing that aging is inherently bad. But, according to new research conducted at Yale University, those very beliefs can have a major impact on how we experience aging.
What researchers found was that people who had positive beliefs about aging were 30% more likely to recover from MCI than those who did not. Not only that, but the researchers were also able to show that holding positive beliefs about aging can lower your risk of experiencing cognitive impairment in the first place.
So, how can you develop positive beliefs about aging?
Becca Levy, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University and author of the book "Breaking the Age Code," recommends keeping an age belief journal for a week.
"People can write down for a week all the messages about aging that they encounter, whether it's on television or social media or everyday conversation. Also write down when there's an absence of age beliefs or older people represented in media or what you're encountering," Levy explains, adding that representation — or lack thereof — matters.
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