STAYING YOUNG INTO OLD AGE

by Dr. Don Rose, Writer, Life Alert

This title may sound like a contradiction, but the happy surprise is that it isn’t. You can indeed get older (as measured by your chronological age – number of years on Earth) yet still remain young (as measured by your biological and mental age).

Being “young” is a two-part state: mental and physical. If you keep a youthful outlook and attitude (mental youth), while maintaining a healthy body (physical youth -- eating right and exercising to maintain or improve your internal biological processes), then you can actually stay in a state that most would consider young. Some people have even made their bodies younger by changing habits and attitudes that were, well, old and obsolete for them. After all, if folk-rock-poet-icon Bob Dylan can sing “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now,” who am I to argue?

Perhaps some of you readers are still not convinced. Okay, here are some tests to try.

Ask someone how old you look and/or act. If the answer is less than your actual number of years on this planet, this is evidence for your success at maintaining youth. The more people you ask, the more evidence you can accumulate.

Now, look inward at your mental state. Try to be honest. Do you still get excited about the little things in life? Are you hopeful about the future? Do you do impetuous things at times? Do you think of yourself as young (your mental portrait of yourself)? If you have some yes answers here, then you have evidence for mental youthfulness as well.

Let’s be clear. I am not saying that getting older (i.e., accumulating more years on this planet) is a bad thing, or that we should act in ways that perhaps were dumb and we wound up regretting back during younger years. With advancing age comes wisdom (hopefully). As more birthday milestones pass, you will know more and more facts and rules and other useful knowledge that makes things work and makes your life work. You will also know more about what doesn’t work - a big timesaver. All these points, plus lower auto insurance rates, are among the many benefits of getting on in years.

But the main point here is that, while we all must get older in terms of years (we have no control over that, as long as we’re alive), the state of “being old” (i.e., mental-attitude aging) is a choice. Plus, with proper physical care and the increasingly rapid pace of medical breakthroughs, biological aging may soon be a choice as well! In short, it has never been a more exciting time to rack up your chronological mileage.

Finally, a four word finale for folks who find they simply can't stand reaching each new birthday, each new New Year, each new decade milestone: think of the alternative!

You’re welcome. Now shut up and be happy. (If you just laughed, you’re still young.)

One afterthought. Some futurists have predicted that in the near future, perhaps a decade or two from now, our knowledge of bodily aging will increase so much we’ll be on the verge of “curing” it -- that is, stopping or even reversing the processes that cause our bodies to decay, die or decrease in function. While this prospect is exciting, one fact of life can still cause major problems or death, even if dying by old age is cured: accidents.

Fortunately, people can protect themselves against accidents and other emergencies. One way is to buy health insurance and other kinds of insurance to make sure an accident doesn’t wipe us out financially. Another equally important strategy, to insure against bodily harm due to emergencies, is to sign up for a medical alert system with Life Alert. Danger doesn’t discriminate; it can happen to anyone, regardless of (chronological) age. Since we all may be living well into the 100+ range during the next few decades, perhaps even 200+ years, there is a lot of living to lose by letting an emergency happen to us without proper protection. Think of a medical alert system with Life Alert as an extra bit of insurance, to make sure you get all the speedy care and attention you might ever need.