Mind over matter: To age well, think positively about aging

Kairos Dance
Kairos dancer Sally Dixon rehearses Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 at the Loring Park Community Center. Kairos Dance is one of a few intergenerational dance companies in the country, with participants ranging in age from children to the elderly.
MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson

Research shows that self-image about aging can be shaped by positive messages that drown out the negative stereotypes we're surrounded by.

MPR News with Kerri Miller hosts a discussion about a Yale study that used subliminal messages on aging that really made a difference.

In test after test, researchers are finding that if we think about getting older in terms of decline or disability, our health likely will suffer. If, on the other hand, we see aging in terms of opportunity and growth, our bodies respond in kind. (Wall Street Journal)

What does it mean to age happily in a culture that doesn't always acknowledge that your experience is important?

Mary Lee Hummert, Senior Scientist at the Gerontology Center and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas and Ashton Applewhite, writer and creator of the This Chair Rocks blog joined Miller on Tuesday.

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