Sudden Storms
Yesterday, I had lunch with an old friend and former coworker at a local restaurant overlooking the lake. As we finished our meal, we suddenly realized it was raining outside. Pouring, actually. Huge wind-driven drops pelting the water with such force that the lake’s surface suddenly had waves. Lights flickered as wait staff and diners were transfixed by the sudden storm.
We were unprepared – no rain jackets or umbrellas—and confused. There’d been no warning, no forecast suggesting it might rain.
While it’s tempting to claim that the same can be said of life, we are often forewarned and choose to ignore the signs and symptoms, whether regarding our health, politics, society, relationships, home repairs, or a whole host of other situations that “suddenly” emerge, erupt, escalate, or otherwise make themselves known.
Close in age, my friend and I share a birthday month, so it’s natural we discussed the signs of aging that have recently and “suddenly” come upon us and how we might stave off some of the more unpleasant ones. One thing we agree upon: We feel younger than we are.
We’re neither delusional, in denial, nor alone in our feelings. Science explains that a person’s internal self-awareness remains relatively stable over time, leading to a mental disconnect where a person’s inner consciousness feels the same, even as the chronological age increases.
The good news is that experiencing a younger subjective age is a sort of biological buffer, which actually slows down cellular aging and preserves cognitive function. Adults who feel younger than their chronological age have significantly more gray matter in areas that control critical functions such as decision making, memory, and speech.
Maintaining a youthful mindset also helps reduce one’s dementia risk.
While we can’t “think ourselves young,” we can work to proactively maintain our physical and mental wellbeing through mental stimulation, such as reading challenging material, eating healthily, pursuing social relationships, staying physically active, and focusing on positive experiences.
When my father retired from teaching over forty years ago, my then-husband’s grandmother told him, “Don’t let the rocking chair get you.”
It was good advice. What are you doing to ensure your retirement years are good ones?