Feeling young involves more than being able to stay up all night. Learning to feel young, regardless of what your identity says, can be a great way to improve your health. Many researchers are interested in the topic, and many of them agree that feeling younger than your chronological age can help your overall well-being, both physical and emotional.
We believe that age is just a number and has put together 5 science-backed reasons to encourage you to live by this motto and feel young, energetic, and vibrant again.
People who feel younger are protected from stress.
We have all experienced stress at some point in our lives. Maybe it’s your job, a family illness, or financial difficulties. The good news is that researchers report that feeling younger than your actual age creates a protective shield against stress.
Other research found that stress was linked to a more pronounced decline in functional health, which increased with biological age. As a result, not feeling your age can help relieve stress.
Feeling younger is associated with less depressive episodes and better mental health
It may be true that the age you feel may be a better predictor of your mental well-being than the age on your birth certificate. Feeling younger than your actual age has also been linked to a lower risk of a major depressive episode (MDE) and a higher chance of flourishing mental health (FMH).
Feeling younger is associated with lower levels of inflammation.
Some people are old in their 30s and others are young in their 90s, or at least that’s what another study suggests. The results indicate that people who perceive themselves as older than their actual age have elevated levels of inflammation.
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However, we would like to point out that it is necessary to follow an anti-inflammatory diet and exercise regularly.
Older adults who feel younger are less likely to get physically impaired or sick.
As far as we know, there is no magic pill that stops or reverses the aging process. And even if we can’t help but age, it’s our attitude that makes us age. Researchers also believe that we are only as old as we feel.
In fact, people who believe they are older than their chronological age are more likely to be hospitalized. In contrast, those who feel younger are healthier and recover faster from disability.
Older adults who feel younger tend to live longer.
Often the mind and body are on separate paths. In our case, a youthful state of mind can have a powerful effect and can literally make us live longer. A research letter showed that people who genuinely believe they are younger than the number on their birth certificate have longer life expectancies. Conversely, people who feel older suffer from reduced longevity.
Imagine that you don’t have a birth certificate and your age simply depends on how you feel. How old would you say you are? What are the things you do that make you feel like you’re aging backward?
Source: crfatsides
