10 Common Myths About Aging

There are 10 common myths about aging that make getting older sound awful including senior moments, becoming isolated, and more. Read the most common myths below.

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10. Just the opposite, in fact: a 2009 Pew Research Survey found that “the older people get, the younger they feel, relatively speaking.” Researchers observed a gap between chronological age and “felt age” that grew wider as people grew older, with nearly half of respondents 50 and older reporting that they felt 10 to 19 years younger than their chronological age.

9. Your Brain Power Declines
“The deficiencies of a middle-aged brain have likely been overstated by anecdotal evidence and even by some scientific studies,” reports Melissa Lee Phillips in a 2011 article for the American Psychological Association’s Monitor on Psychology. In fact, verbal and math abilities and spatial and abstract reasoning all improve in middle age. Phillips also reports that as they age, brains may employ effective techniques to compensate for cognitive decline, such as the use of both hemispheres in solving problems (younger brains, in contrast, often use only one until confronted with a particularly challenging problem). The idea of cognitive reserve has also been getting some buzz lately–that although all brains may atrophy, bilingual brains, for example, seem to be effective at resisting the effects of aging and degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s, as a result of the workout they’ve been given over the course of a lifetime.

8. You’ll Stop Having Sex
“Recent studies and surveys show the brains of those well over 60 yeas old want and enjoy sex,” observes Judith Horstman in her book, “The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain.” She points to a national survey of men and a women between 75 and 85, where three-quarters of male respondents and half of women respondents said they were still interested in sex and still sexually active.

7. You’ll Be Stuck With Bad Habits
Making positive lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, can still have an impact on health, no matter how late the changes are implemented.For example, older smokers are wrong to believe that “they are too old to quit or too old to benefit from quitting,” according to a recent report summarizing a number of studies on the subject. Judith Horstman further asserts in “The Scientific American Healthy Aging Brain” that “starting an exercise regimen later in life can pay off in brain benefits even when some cognitive decline has already set in,” citing research conducted in 2010 on the effects of a mild walking routine on previously sedentary adults.

6. Your Happiness Will Decline
In fact, many people view midlife as their happiest period. Several surveys have found that while happiness dips in the 40s, people start to feel more content with life after the age of 50, and a study recently published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization found that people are “at their happiest at retirement age.”

5. Frailty Is Inevitable
“While getting older is the strongest risk factor for osteoporosis, many elderly individuals never develop the disorder,” observes Robert H. Shmerling, M.D. of Harvard Health Publications, in an article for MSN Health.

4. You’ll Suffer From Empty Nest Syndrome
Several studies have concluded that an empty nest actually allows for increased marital satisfaction, as reported by The New York Times. Far from being lost and depressed, many “empty-nesters” enjoy the uninterrupted quality time they now have the opportunity to share.

3. You’ll Stop Learning And Growing
Gone are the days when the adult brain was assumed to be a stagnant entity: the idea of neuroplasticity, or “the [adult brain’s] ability to change its structure and function in response to experience,” has become widely accepted in scientific circles and is seeping into popular culture. Particularly exciting is the idea of “self-directed neuroplasticity,” or the power of thought to re-wire the brain, as observed in Buddhist monks. In other words, you can too teach an old dog new tricks.

2. You’ll Become Less Social And More Isolated
While social isolation is a serious issue amongst many housebound elderly, they are often more socially adept than younger people. “As we get older, our social intelligence keeps expanding,” Dr. Margaret Gatz, professor of psychology, gerontology, and preventive medicine at the University of Southern California, told O magazine. “We get better at sizing up people, at understanding how relationships work–and at not getting into an argument unless we mean to.” Not only that, but socializing may well be the best thing to do for an aging brain, according to Horstman, as it decreases stress and the perception of pain, among other health benefits.

1. Your Destiny Is Out Of Your Control
“One may have greater personal control over one’s biopsychosocial health after retirement than previously recognized,” concluded a study conducted over a 60-year period, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. After studying the lives of more than 500 people, researchers found that “successful aging” was largely dependent on seven factors within an individual’s control, to a degree: alcohol use, whether or not they smoke, marital stability, exercise, body mass index, coping mechanisms, and education. Successful aging was defined as including good physical health/absence of irreversible physical disability, longevity, evidence of social supports, and good mental health, as well as subjective assessment of life enjoyment and ability to complete the tasks of daily living. So although aging is inevitable, aging well is not only possible but within our power.

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