In this day and age, it seems that one of our biggest concerns is aging. We want to live longer, look younger, live every year to the fullest and make sure that as the years disappear our health doesn’t. The anti-aging industry in the States alone is estimated to be worth about $19 billion. We’re constantly bombarded with products that promise results similar to the fountain of youth, but the truth is that aging well can only be achieved internally, when we feel like our years go by for a reason.
A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that the secret to aging may be as simple as living life with a sense of purpose. That’s right, the secret to good health in old age may just be understanding your purpose as each year goes by. Having a motive or some form of determination in your daily life has always been correlated to better health markers, including better sleep, healthier behaviors, longer life, and a lower risk of disease, but this study proves for the first time that it may also maintain physical mobility and fitness. Conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, the study tracked the walking pace of individuals over 50 in 2006 and 2010. In 2006, 1500 of the adults met the threshold of a healthy walking pace, but in 2010 only 47% of those individuals had fallen below the healthy walking threshold. Results correlated directly to the participant’s answers surrounding how they went about their daily lives, with purpose or simply wandering aimlessly. In fact, some participants that expressed they lived with a sense of purpose even showed an increase in walking speed over time despite their age.
These two people are the same age, but the guy on the left lives life with a purpose and fills his days with gardening and growing things. He finds himself healthy, happy and mobile because of it.
Of course, having a purpose doesn’t directly affect physical function, it’s not a cause-and-effect situation, but it certainly plays a role in slowing down the process of physical decline. One in three Americans reports having difficulty walking just three blocks by the age of 65, and it’s no coincidence that the average age of a retiree in America is 63. Many adults struggle with how to live their daily lives after ending their life-long careers to retire, leading to rapid aging and a severe decrease in mobility. Having a purpose inspires independence and allows the maintenance of physical function. The fact is that those who have a purpose tend to take better care of themselves and engage in healthier activities overall.
But how do you find a purpose after living most of your life with structure and direction? The truth is, that having a purpose doesn’t have to mean working towards a lofty goal or feeling like you know exactly what you’re meant to be doing with your life. Having a purpose can be as simple as practicing a new hobby, forming new relationships, helping others, even practicing mindfulness through meditation, journaling or yoga. As Carol Ryff, director of the Institute on Aging at the University of Wisconsin said, “Leading a life of purpose not only feels good and meaningful, existentially speaking, it may also be an area of rich potential in which intervention studies and public health education programs might contribute to improved health of our ever-growing aged population.” The point is to have a reason to wake up each day and achieve something. While creams, pills, and injections may aid the appearance of aging, the true way to age with grace is to live each day with purpose. We at Genetic Direction created the genetic healthy-aging kit GxRenew because we want you to have a better understanding of how your body ages uniquely. Understanding your body and looking at each day as a gift to be received are the only tools you need to live a long, healthy life.
