Rally digs into a Yale study that tracked 11,000 people over age 65 for up to twelve years — and the results might surprise you. Almost half of them actually improved physically, mentally, or both, as they aged. Turns out one surprisingly simple factor made all the difference, and Rally breaks down exactly what it is and how you can use it starting this week.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
RALLY:
Hey, beautiful people. Welcome back to the Silver Beast Podcast.
And I’m Rally Preston – still 71 years old here.
I’ll let you know if that number starts going down.
Maybe if I try walking backwards on a treadmill. I’ve thought about it. You know, throw the old body in reverse – take some miles off. I might try it…if it didn’t work, I’d have some killer calves.
Ok, I’m just being funny – some might disagree – but what if we could do something like that.
Not take years off necessarily – that didn’t go so well for Dorian Gray. Oooo a literary reference. Yeah see this is a high-brow podcast.
But what if we could improve? That’s my point. Yes, at our age. You and me. Despite what everyone else might be telling us.
Well, I’m telling you we can improve physically or mentally – maybe even both. It is possible.
And you don’t have to take my word for it. I’ve got the scientific proof right here. I got the receipts, as the kids say these days.
And this is from a prestigious institution of higher learning: Yale University. The ivyest of the Ivy League schools, right? Now you might hold a little grudge against Yale if you didn’t get into the law school there. Look, I get it. They didn’t let me in either. But you know, I think I would of had to apply first. So, my bad.
So Yale University just wrapped up a very serious, long-term study on aging.
Eleven thousand people. All sixty-five and older. They tracked these people for up to twelve years.
And here’s what they found: people get really annoyed when you follow them around for years. They were the ultimate stalkers, right?
But it paid off. Here’s what they found when they looked at the data (or data?)
So around half the people in this study – actually improved as they got older. And again we’re talking people who were 65 and up.
Half of them improved physically. Cognitively. Sometimes both.
They didn’t just hold steady. Not just slowed their decline a teensie weensie bit.
Nah, we’re talking some pretty big improvements that could be statistically measured.
Now again, this is not some random study done by the community college I went to. This is Yale University. It’s a peer-reviewed study, published in a science journal, and all that.
And it says one in two people in this study got better as they got older.
And of those, about a third got sharper mentally. And about a quarter got physically stronger.
So how in the Sam Hill did this happen? How can you get better the older you get. Well I’ll tell you in a minute, I know, I’m such a tease.
Okay, so half these people improved somehow – so what happened to the others? Why didn’t they? What was different about them?
Well, the Yale researchers dug into that too.
They found the people most likely to improve had one very specific thing going for them.
It wasn’t that they were taking some miracle drug, or doing 3-hour workouts every day, or eating cottage cheese and peaches every meal – it’s nothing like that.
It all came down to really just one thing: What they believed about aging.
The folks who went in thinking — hey, you know, getting older doesn’t have to mean falling apart. Those more optimistic people were more likely to actually improve. And the researchers tested this. In walking speed. In memory tests. In other tests, they measured all of this.
Now, I’m not telling you that just thinking happy thoughts is gonna heal your bad shoulder. Believe me, I’ve tried that. It still hurts…and I’m always a glass half full kind of guy. And yeah, it hasn’t worked yet.
So here’s what the data is actually saying about this…
Your expectations…what you think about what’s possible for you personally — that seems to shape what happens to you as you age.
And you know, I get it. Growing up, I admired the oldsters who were like that. The positive ones. They kept going strong well into their eighties, nineties. They were sharp, and funny, and still showing up.
People probably told them back then too, hey, game over, granny – what are you doing? Just take a seat and sail into the sunset peacefully. I think that ageism thing was worse back then, if I remember right.
And I think about the more positive people in my life once in a while – it’s a great inspiration. And you know, there’s something to that.
Well, this Yale study says that can’t be just dumb luck, genetics, or whatever – not all of it anyway. It’s more a damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead kind of thing – that attitude.
Oh, there’s one more interesting tidbit about this study. So I said a lot of the improvements they saw had a lot to do with their attitude about aging right? And that was a big part of it.
But there was something else going on here…
So the people who improved in this study were the ones who were most likely to stay active. That’s what the study said. Most of them kept moving. And they stayed socially connected. And they kept their brain engaged in life, friends, their community, whatever.
So they didn’t treat retirement like a finish line. They didn’t just stop. It was more like, OK, well what’s the next thing I can do?
And here’s my little hot take on that.
The word “retirement” might be a pretty dangerous thing. You know, just to shut it down and coast the rest of the way.
Because, for some people, it literally means — done. Checked out. Parked on the couch. Watching umpteen hours of Netflix or Jeopardy! or whatever every day.
This is what the Yale data (or data?) makes pretty clear. Keep going. Keep doing stuff. Stay engaged. That’s what moved the needle for the people who improved.
So, my fellow Silver Beasties…if you sometimes feel like the best years are behind you — and yeah, I’m sure we all drift there once in a while. It happens. The point is, don’t stay there.
This study…it’s scientific evidence from eleven thousand real people over twelve years — this study says, contrary to popular belief, you might actually get better from here.
In fact, there’s a very good chance of that. That’s the science, folks.
And look, yes, some people do decline. Not gonna exaggerate these findings. There’s no hype here. Not everybody gets better.
But if half the people in this study did — why couldn’t that be you? And me? And my wife. And my friends – why couldn’t it be us?
Alright. Let’s talk about what you can actually do with what this study…you know, otherwise, what good is it?
Well here are three simple things that can get you moving on this today…
Number one: Watch what you say about yourself.
Seriously. Pay attention this week.
Don’t go around bad-mouthing yourself. Don’t let those stupid thoughts like “I’m too old for that” — or “I can’t do what I used to do” stop you from trying. Just catch yourself when the whining starts. Rephrase it, to something more positive, like: “Well let’s see what I can do…” Just… give yourself a fair shot. And you know, you deserve that much.
Alright, number two thing here: Pick one physical thing to do this week. Just one.
Now many of you are already do this. So walk around the block. Do a few chair squats while you’re brewing coffee. Stretch for five minutes in the morning. Just do something that will kick-start you in the right direction. Anything that gets you moving.
Like the Yale study said… the people who improved the most stayed physically active. They did not sit still.
And you know what, you don’t need a gym. You don’t need a personal trainer. You don’t need the lululemon yoga pants…like I wear.
You just need to start moving.
And number three here: Stay connected to people.
Try calling someone this week you haven’t talked to in a while.
Join something — a walking group, a book club, a poker game, whatever feels right.
There’s a ton of research on social connection and aging. I’ve yammered about this before. People who stay connected tend to do better. And I mean across the board. Physically, mentally, emotionally. You weren’t really built to go it alone. None of us were.
Okay. Let’s bring this episode home…
Eleven thousand people. Twelve years. Yale University.
Almost half of all these adults sixty-five and older — actually got better in some way, over time. And some in more ways than one. And you my friend, could be one of them.
Now, I know, there’s no guarantees in this aging business.
But if the science says it’s genuinely possible — and it does, I got it right here — then the only question left is really whether you’re going to give yourself that chance, or spend all your time watching “Murder She Wrote” reruns.
Watch your self-talk. Move your body more. Stay in touch with people you care about.
You know, there’s still plenty of runway left out there for a lot of us. So make the most of it.
Alright, this Rally Preston, thanks so much for stopping by the Silver Beast Podcast…and I will see you next time. Take care!