Want to Live a Long and Fulfilling Life? Change How You Think About Getting Old – WSJ

My work has put me in touch with many older Americans like Perry, whose lives are rich with purpose and pleasure. They defy the assumptions held by too many people young and old that aging is only about illness and decline. It is a view that is doing far more harm than most of us realize.

Data is mounting, much of it from research by Yale epidemiologist Becca Levy, about the impact our attitudes and beliefs have on our health and longevity. Levy s interest in the connection began in the 1990s, when she traveled to Japan to try to understand why the Japanese had the longest lifespan in the world. She was familiar with explanations that attributed this longevity to diet Japanese people consume less meat, dairy products, sugar and potatoes than other wealthy countries. But what stood out to her was how the culture respected and celebrated older people.

via www.wsj.com

Good advice. I try.