Getting old can bring many problems. Our bodies begin breaking down, and our memory starts to weaken.
But despite the loss of particular abilities, research shows that being old and happy is more of a reality today than at any other point in history. In other words, getting older can also make you happier.
We Respond Better to Positive Information as we Get Older
Dr. Laura Carstensen, a psychology professor at Stanford, has been researching the areas of aging, emotion, and motivation for several years. In her TED talk, she discusses how older people experience less stress than younger people and are better at regulating their emotions. Simply put, she says that the older you are, the less stress, anger, and worry you tend to feel.
In 2005, Carstensen wrote a paper summarizing her findings on the relationship between memory retention and emotional regulation. She found that young and older people differ significantly in how they view and remember both positive and negative events.
In her study, she measured specific images’ impact on a person’s amygdala – the brain’s emotional center.
Every time a highly charged emotional event happens in your life – whether it’s something you experience directly to you or something you’ve witnessed – your amygdala becomes activated.
An argument you had with a loved one, watching your child perform in their first Christmas concert, or experiencing the loss of a loved one. These are all examples of emotionally charged events, and when they occur, your amygdala becomes very active.
Carstensen looked at how amygdalar activity differed in young people (18-25 y.o.) and older people (65-80 y.o.) when presented with positive and negative images on a computer screen (images similar to the situations I just described).
The results showed that for young adults, the amygdala responded with just as much intensity, whether the images were positive or negative.
However, the amygdala was most active in older adults (over 65) when they viewed positive images. Among the older group, amygdala activity decreased when viewing negative images compared to the younger control group. The difference was statistically significant.
You’re Never too Old to Change
What does this mean? It means that as you age, you become better at training your brain to ignore adverse events and focus more on positive ones.
In the “Mind” chapter of my book, The Promise Wheel, I talk about the importance of balanced thinking. One of the quotes I cite is from Fred Rogers of Mr. Roger’s Neighbourhood television show.
When Rogers was bothered by a tragedy he saw on TV, his mother told him, “Fred, pay attention to the helpers. You will always find people helping. ”
I’m writing this blog post the same week the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria took place. Sadly, as I write this sentence, the death toll has already surpassed 23,000 people.
Carstenson’s research doesn’t say that you won’t be affected by negative news stories. But it does suggest that as you age, you become better at recognizing the helpers, rescuers, and survivors in those stories. And the positive feelings you get from seeing those helpers will affect you more than the negative stories.
Richard