As we reach a certain age, we often begin to worry about how to age in the best way possible. In other words, age healthily. We all seek to grow older by being physically independent and functional as well as maintaining correct cognitive and brain capacity. While it is true that with the increase in life expectancy there are increasingly older people who maintain their health, it is also common to see how there are people who, even though they are the same age, some age better than others. Health professionals recommend implementing certain habits to not only prevent our body from aging but also to prevent our brain from deteriorating.
There are some cognitive abilities, such as memory, that deteriorate over the years. Of course, some people may have better memories than others even if they share the same age. A recent study published in the journal The Lancet Healthy Longevity sheds light on why there are people who, although they are the same years, have very different cognitive abilities. In this study, people around 75 years old were analyzed for more than five years. The research details that there was a group of people, which they called ‘the super-aged’—those who aged better—who maintained healthier habits and a more active lifestyle compared to the other study group. “Our findings illustrate marked differences, both in brain structure and in multiple clinical and lifestyle characteristics.” Furthermore, this study shows how ‘the super-aged’ had better mental health than the other group in addition to a greater number of years of education and training.
Health professionals are unanimous when it comes to ensuring that an active and healthy lifestyle makes us age much better. “It is each person’s personal lifestyle that will make us arrive in better or worse shape,” says Francisco Mora, professor of Human Physiology at the Complutense University of Madrid in this La Vanguardia report. To age in good health we must maintain a healthy diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, limit the consumption of ultra-processed foods, tobacco and alcohol. It is also advisable to do physical exercise daily and maintain good mental health, leaving aside the stress or anxiety so common in contemporary society.
