Feeling happy about getting old can reverse memory loss, according to a new study. Older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common type of memory loss, were 30 percent more likely to regain normal cognition if they were upbeat versus those who were down-and-out about ageing.
Moreover, a cheerful approach to life allowed participants to recover their cognition up to two years earlier than the others. Those who started the study with normal cognition and a happy attitude toward ageing were less likely to develop MCI over the next 12 years than those in the negative group, regardless of physical health and the age they joined the cohort.
The Yale School of Public Health study is the first to link a cultural factor - a positive attitude towards ageing - to MCI recovery. Professor Becca Levy, lead author of the study, said: “Most people assume there is no recovery from MCI, but in fact half of those who have it do recover.
“Little is known about why some recover while others don’t. That’s why we looked at positive age beliefs, to see if they would help provide an answer.
“Our previous research has demonstrated that age beliefs can be modified; therefore, age-belief interventions at the individual and societal levels could increase the number of people who experience cognitive recovery,”
Her research in JAMA Network Open was spurred by her previous discovery that older people found feeling positive about their age reduced the stress caused by cognitive challenges, increased self-confidence about cognition, and improved cognitive performance. The latest development, funded by the National Institute on Aging, had 1,716 participants aged 65 and above.
