Mind Grows Stronger as Body Ages

Psychologists at Stanford University in California have discovered a phenomenon they have named the "paradox of ageing"; whilst the body eventually grows weaker with age, emotional health improves over time.

Researchers followed a group of 184 adults over one week, regularly pageing them and asking them to describe their feelings. The study found that younger and older subjects had roughly equal numbers of positive emotions over the period, whilst older subjects reported fewer negative emotions.

The researchers concluded that as we age, we learn to adapt to the demands of life, accept the inevitability of ageing and commit more time to positive relationships and activities than we did in our youth.

However, the study did report that older subjects' emotions were more complex - respondants tended to report both positive and negative emotions at once. Even so, older subjects tended to forget negative emotions quickly whilst younger respondants tended to linger on their bad experiences.

Laura L. Carstensen, involved in the study, believes the results are closely linked to the "unique human ability to recognize our own mortality".

Friday, 10 November 2000