Scientists are now saying that people who age “best” have a “light-hearted, optimistic outlook on life.”
Apparently, focusing on what’s good about life and “living for the moment” are key components to mental health.
I’m as shocked as you are, folks. I was almost certain that “dreading the future” and “berating yourself for mistakes made in the past” would keep you going pretty well into your 80s, but I’m human and I err.
Dr Stefanie Brassen, the study’s author, said that successful ageing came down to “the positivity effect”.
She said this was “a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences”.
To prove this, Dr Brassen and her team conducted an experiment which saw young and elderly adults presented with pictures of happy, sad, fearful or neutral faces.
During certain parts of the task when participants were told they could relax, researchers noted that the elderly subjects were much more engaged by the sight of a happy face.
By scanning the brains of participants, they discovered increased activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex, the part of the brain that controls emotions. High levels of activity in this part of the brain are associated with good mental health.
And if that doesn’t work, checking out this article’s photo of a very 1990s couple on a beach ought to keep you smiling — for one reason or another.
Look on the bright side of life if you want to feel young, say researchers [Telegraph]
