Your parents may have told you that "attitude is everything." As people get older, a positive attitude can add years to an individual's life, and boost satisfaction and longevity. Increasingly, science supports the idea that an optimistic stance on getting older leads to a longer and happier life.
"Aging, like many aspects of life, is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Positive and negative attitudes can affect your health behaviorally, psychologically and even biologically," writes Dr. Sharon Horesh Bergquist on CNN's website. "Being 'pro-aging,' or satisfied with your own aging, can make you adopt healthier behaviors, feel in control of how you age and even heighten your immune system."
A positive attitude can help sustain mental faculties as people get older. The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging found that a pessimistic outlook on memory retention led to a 30.2 percent quicker decline in cognitive functioning, while participants who maintained a positive outlook stayed sharper, longer. Making proactive efforts to stay mentally fit like doing crossword puzzles and other mind exercises can also enhance quality of life.
One way to reap those benefits is to sustain rich emotional and intellectual relationships with peers. Care recipients and people who are aging in place possess wisdom and experience that are valuable to the people around them. Sharing stories, writing a journal and investing oneself in the lives of loved ones are easy ways to feel connected, enhancing a sense of continuity between the past and present.
For individuals who are aging in place, Independa's intuitive Angela™ platform provides an interface for caregivers and care recipients to connect through the convenience of an LG TV or any other HDMI-enabled television. With handy reminders, photo-sharing and other functions, the system supports the activities of daily living.
