Feeling Old vs Being Old: Can how you feel about yourself impact how long you live?

Today’s issue of Harder To Kill is taking a different angle. I sat down with Jihane Farrell, PhD to talk about the topic of “Feeling Old vs Being Old.” I hope you enjoy it!

An interview with Jihane Farrell, PhD

Q: Hi Jihane, when I saw your post the other day on Feeling Old vs Being Old, I immediately was intrigued. My focus is on making Men over 50 Harder to Kill which is my way of improving Healthspan (how well we live and function) and Lifespan (how many years we live) so we can make the 2nd half of life the best half.

Tell us more about how “feeling old” impacts how long you might live.

A: Well, it is not clear if your self-perception impacts your physiology, or if your physiology causes your age perception. But research shows that people with a younger subjective age (feeling younger than they are) live longer. A study analyzing data from over 6,000 participants found that people who were feeling older than they are, had a 41% greater mortality risk than those who felt younger. It was associated with cardiovascular death.

Other studies suggest that a younger subjective age is associated with slower brain aging and better ability to cope with stress, which may indirectly influence healthspan and lifespan.

Q: That’s really interesting, Jihane. So how you perceive yourself impacts your biology? In other words the stories you tell yourself, good or bad, impact your health?

A: Big time Scott! My favorite study demonstrating this was done with room attendants. One group of ladies working in hotels were told that with their jobs, they met the general surgeon’s recommendation for exercise. Ladies with the same job, in another group, as a control, were not told anything.

Four weeks later, the ladies who had been informed that they were exercising more than they previously thought had

• lost an average of two pounds

• lowered their blood pressure by almost 10%

• were significantly healthier as measured by body-fat percentage, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio.

Without changing anything, but their outlook.

Another study that I find fascinating on this topic was looking at the variation in the hormone ghrelin, which plays a role in hunger levels, based on mindset. For this experiment, participants were given a 380-calorie milkshake.

One group was told the shake was 620 calories or “indulgent”. The other group was told it was 140 calories, or “moderate”.

So same product, just different mindset when consumed.

The research team measured the blood levels of ghrelin after consumption. Ghrelin levels decrease when we’re satiated but are high when we’re hungry.

The group with the indulgent mindset had a dramatically steeper decline in ghrelin compared to the other group.

So the satiety was consistent with what they believed they were consuming rather than the actual nutritional value of what they consumed.

What I find powerful in this example, is that hormone regulation is something that happens completely outside of our conscious mind. But our perception can greatly influence our physiology.

Q: It sounds like you start with asking yourself the question “Do I feel my age?” and if the answer is no, I feel older, then what?

A: That’s a great question Scott. I don’t know if you can “think your way to better health”. Would someone start feeling younger and younger with simple affirmations? Maybe not.

Although I’d like to point to a study named “Counterclockwise” from the 70s, that had only 5 participants in it but showed that when these people were immersed in a reenactment of their youth, they objectively increased their scores on cognitive tests and showed signs of improvements in their arthritis. Before and after pictures were shown to people who didn’t know them and were consistently rated as looking noticeably younger after the retreat.

So this study suggests that maybe we can, just by acting youthful, reverse aging. But the results need to be confirmed with a larger cohort.

That said, for anyone who is feeling older than they are, I think it’s important to consider this as a warning sign.

If you do feel older than your age, this is your invitation to have a look at your lifestyle and diet to consider some changes. Ask yourself, what could make me feel younger?

I think it’s more important to consider than we think. One study found that “older” subjective age predicted a higher likelihood of pre-frailty and frailty. So the earlier you act, the more chance you have to reverse this and prevent frailty.

Q: How do you use this subjective assessment with an objective assessment (biological age testing)?

A: First, I would say that these two assessments capture different things. A biological age test gives you a snapshot of where an individual is at. Biological age, when higher than chronological age, can be reversed with lifestyle changes.

Subjective age has more to do with self-perception and influences how an individual sees themselves in the future as well. Our outlook is a psychological factor that influences our actions.

But it’s interesting to see that some studies point to a congruence between subjective age and biological age, depending on the test that is used.

One 2015 study found that higher peak expiratory flow (a marker of cardiovascular health) and grip strength (a marker of muscle strength) were both associated with a younger subjective age, while higher waist circumference (a marker of metabolic health) was related to an older subjective age. So these assessments seem to agree.

However, this research did not find an association between subjective age and telomere length.

Another study found that an older subjective age was associated with accelerated epigenetic aging.

With what we currently know, I think subjective and biological age measure different aspects of the age experience. If both suggest an older age compared to the chronological age, it should be considered as a suggestion to make some lifestyle changes that contribute to aging better.

Harder To Kill Tip: Change how you think about the aging process and use it to live a healthier, stronger life!

Bio on Jihane Farrell, PhD:

Jihane has a PhD in biology that has led her to work on anti-aging, more specifically cellular senescence. Now a certified functional health coach, she brings her knowledge of the science of aging and skills in service of wealthbuilders so they can feel younger and prioritize health. Her mission is to empower people to live healthy longer.

Learn more about her work https://www.drjihanefarrell.com/

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