By Stephen Beech via SWNS
A positive outlook on aging keeps older people mentally sharp, suggests a new study.
But more negative expectations of growing older can accelerate symptoms of aging such as forgetfulness and even dementia, say scientists.
American researchers found that people with more positive aging expectations rate their cognitive function better and report less perceived cognitive decline.
Getting older brings certain expectations, from grey hair and wrinkles to increasing forgetfulness.
While such beliefs may seem harmless, whether a person views those changes in a positive or negative light may influence how they perceive their cognitive abilities, according to the new study.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University College of Nursing found that people who had more positive expectations of aging tended to report less frequent cognitive problems, such as difficulty concentrating or keeping track of what they were doing.
They were also less likely to report that their cognitive performance had declined over time, according to the findings published in the journal Aging and Mental Health.
Study first author Professor Nikki Hill said: “Ageing expectations are malleable and influence an individual’s perceptions of their cognitive functioning.
“Modifying older adults’ aging expectations could support healthier cognitive aging through increased awareness and accurate assumptions about the aging process.”
Previous studies have shown that expectations about aging – such as whether a person expects to maintain high levels of activity or if they expect everything to go downhill – are associated with health.
Those with more negative aging expectations tend to experience worse outcomes, such as more rapid physical and cognitive decline, while positive perceptions of aging are linked to habits that promote health and well-being such as regular exercise.
Hill wanted to understand how older people experience cognitive changes and how that influences outcomes related to aging.
She said she’d noticed that when people describe their experiences, they often include “stereotypical and stigmatized” beliefs about aging and cognitive decline.
It led her to wonder how people’s expectations about the aging process may influence how they interpret mental changes they may experience – a relationship that few studies have examined.
Hill said: “Do people’s perceptions of what they expect aging to be in the future, in terms of physical health, mental health, cognitive health, affect the way that they perceive their cognitive performance?
“If it does, then that gives us more clues about how to interpret people’s reports of cognitive changes and, potentially, how to intervene earlier to support people to maximize their aging outcomes.”
She explained that, for example, people who are worried about perceived declines in their cognitive function – even if their cognitive health is normal – are at higher risk of developing a cognitive impairment in the future.
Hill says that with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, there’s a slow, gradual decline in cognitive function over decades- and people often experience “subtle” symptoms before clinical tests identify an impairment.
The researchers conducted an online survey of 581 people aged 65 and older in the United States who lived independently and didn’t report any diagnosis of dementia or other cognitive impairment.
The survey asked about their expectations regarding physical health, mental health and cognitive function in relation to aging.
They were asked to rate statements – such as, “Every year that people age, their energy levels go down a little more” – on a four-point scale from “definitely true” to “definitely false.”
To assess their perceptions of their own cognition, the participants were asked about their cognitive abilities over the previous week.
They were also asked about their ability to perform certain tasks now compared to 10 years ago to assess whether they believed their cognitive abilities had declined.
The researchers found that people who had more positive expectations of aging tended to rate their cognitive function better and report less perceived decline in their cognitive abilities, both in the last week or over the last 10 years.
But more negative expectations of aging were linked to more negative perceptions of their current cognitive performance and whether they perceived cognitive decline.
The team found little difference between participants’ expectations of their physical, mental, or cognitive health and how they perceived their cognition.
Hill added: “If we can intervene in a way to ground aging expectations more in what is true and less stigmatized, then maybe we can help people clarify what they’re experiencing in terms of cognitive changes, which will support our ability to respond to individual needs for maximizing cognitive health.”
She said the team now plans to conduct more research to understand the complex relationship such as how do beliefs about aging influence whether older adults report the cognitive change they’re experiencing.
