Are your thoughts aging you?

We’ve heard the term: mind-body connection. If I think about something gross, I start to gag. If I tell myself I’m tired, I immediately feel more lethargic. If I look at a pair of heavy weights that I plan to lift, I tell myself “easy.” When I pick up those weights they actually feel lighter. If I look at the same pair of weights and think “heavy,” when I pick them up they feel even heavier than they should.

I know that what I’m thinking has a direct correlation with how I feel, but I had no idea that how you view yourself in terms of age can actually cause physiological changes.  Experiments conducted showed that senior citizen men who were to think “young” had lower blood pressure, more strength, and were mentally sharper (1). At a week-long retreat these men were to pretend the entire time that they were in their twenties and at the end, they showed “improvements in grip strength, manual dexterity, posture, gait, memory, hearing, and vision. Yes, that’s right. They got younger” (1). Pretty cool stuff.

From now on, when I wake up I’m going to think “happy” and “energetic.” When I have to do an assignment that I dread, I’ll think of the word “simple” and “no problem.” When the wrinkles and the achy joints appear, I’ll think “go away!”

Source: Prevention June 2013 Article titled “My Year of Aging Backward”

Photo: Me…thinking and acting young…I refuse to act my age!