London: It might be a cliché as old as they come, but feeling young at heart really can make you live longer.
Scientists have proved that people with a youthful spring in their step and an unswerving optimism about the future seem able to put death on hold. Researchers at University College London monitored the happiness and health levels of more than 6,000 adults for eight years.
They found that those who felt younger than their actual age, by three years or more, were 41 per cent less likely to have died in the follow-up period.
Just 14 per cent of the optimists who felt young at heart had passed away within eight years of the start of the study, compared with nearly one in four who perceived themselves to be at least a year older than their chronological age.
Although some of the difference could be accounted for by illness, there was still a significant protective benefit to feeling younger.
Researchers believe that those who feel younger are more likely to take care of themselves, maintain a healthy weight, eat sensibly and follow medical advice. They were also more prone to having younger friends and therefore engaged in activities that boosted a vibrant outlook.
In contrast, those who felt older were more likely to be socially isolated and have poor personal care.
Prof Andrew Steptoe, the study’s lead author, said: “We found that self-perceived age predicted all-cause and cardiovascular mortality during the following eight years.
Although baseline health, physical disability, and health behaviour accounted for some of the association, after adjusting for all co-variates, there remained a 41 per cent greater mortality hazard in people who felt older than their actual age compared with those who felt younger than their actual age. “The mechanisms underlying these associations merit further investigation.”
Dr Steptoe added: “Self-perceived age has the potential to change, so interventions may be possible. Individuals who feel older than their actual age could be targeted with health messages promoting positive health behaviours and attitudes toward ageing.
“Possibilities include a broader set of health behaviours than we measured [such as maintaining a healthy weight and adherence to medical advice], and greater resilience, sense of mastery and will to live among those who feel younger than their age.”
Although participants’ average age was 65.8, most saw themselves as being younger than they were.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found that just under 70 per cent felt three or more years younger than their actual age, while 25.6 per cent had a self-perceived age close to their real one.
Another 4.8 per cent felt more than a year older than their chronological age. The research showed a strong association between self-perceived age and cardiovascular, or heart and artery, health.
However, there was no similar link between self-perceived age and death from cancer.
