I just read a fascinating article by Ellen Langer on how our perception can change our health. She describes studies that show how our surroundings–and specifically, the triggers around us–can alter the way we feel and perform physically. In one study, she put a bunch of 70 to 80-year-olds in a space that had been designed to look and feel as though it was built and decorated many years earlier. The subjects were instructed to remember how they felt and moved at that earlier age, but not to dwell on memories or specific thoughts of that period.
The result? The participants not only reported feeling younger but actually exhibited “younger” behavior as indicated in tests measuring flexibility, dexterity and memory.
I am currently working on a book about those who decide to live in a place that makes them happy–and I’m not talking about retirement communities. One thing I am finding is that many people in their later years are moving abroad because it is stimulating. These individuals are going beyond the warm weather choices and finding places that engage and excite them daily. By learning a new language and culture and creating a whole new group of friends of all ages from around the world, these seniors are finding that they feel younger than they have in many years. Many have renewed energy to dive into projects or even vocations that they’d never attempted before. Most find a new sense of what it means to really LIVE while their co-horts back home focus on their general decline.
Langer’s work and the research I am doing highlight the importance of where we choose to live and how it affects our health and well being. And it’s not just for seniors–at every age, we can improve our physical and mental health by being mindful of our choices regarding place in terms of our home design (simple and small is best), the diversity of our social circles and community, and the culture and climate in which we live.
How are YOU choosing to be healthy?
