Feeling old? It’s all in the mind

You get old, and everything starts breaking down, right? Well, no. Aging has more to do with the way we think about it, and negative thoughts about growing old can make it happen faster.

A new study has discovered that nearly half of people over age 65 saw their cognitive or physical abilities stabilize or even improve over time, rather than steadily declining as we might expect.

Her team tracked the health of 11,314 people aged 50 and older, who were tested for their cognitive and physical abilities every two years over 12 years.

This ratio would have risen to more than 50 percent of over-65s not being affected by aging if those with a negative attitude about growing old were excluded.

The findings seem to confirm what aging researchers have suspected for some time: that our mental outlook plays a significant role in how our bodies age.

By contrast, earlier studies demonstrated that people with negative feelings about aging had worse physical and cognitive health than those with more positive attitudes.

Geriatrics, 2026; 11(2): 28