Positive thinking about aging in the elderly offers opportunities for memory recovery
Older adults with mild cognitive impairment are more likely to recover their function if they feel satisfied with their age, compared to those who have negative feelings about it, according to a new study from the Yale School of Public Health (USA) published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
Mild cognitive impairment is a common form of dementia, according to researchers. Thinking positively about aging gives older adults a 30 percent higher chance of regaining normal thinking ability than those with negative thoughts.
"These positive thoughts also helped older adults recover cognitively two years earlier than those with negative thoughts about aging. This cognitive recovery advantage remained evident regardless of the level of cognitive decline," the researchers added.
"In previous experimental studies with older adults, positive thinking about aging reduced stress caused by cognitive limitations, increased cognitive self-efficacy, and improved cognitive performance," the researchers said. "Therefore, we hypothesized that older adults with positive thinking about aging would have a greater chance of recovering from cognitive decline and would recover sooner than those with negative thinking about aging."
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Positive thinking helps the elderly have a chance to recover their memory. |
"Most people think that cognitive impairment is irreversible, but in fact half of people with the condition recover," said study author Professor Becca Levy, a psychologist and public health expert. "Until now, little was known about the mechanisms by which some people recover from mild cognitive impairment while others do not. That's why we set out to investigate positive thoughts about ageing, to see if they could help answer that question."
Research results in more than 1,700 people over 65 years old showed that elderly people in the group with positive thoughts about aging with normal cognition at the beginning of the study were less likely to have cognitive decline in the following 12 years than those in the group with negative thoughts about aging, the results did not depend on their age and physical health at the beginning of the study.
Scientists say: "Interventions to address aging mindsets at both the individual and societal levels could help increase the number of people who recover cognitive abilities."
