Recent research suggests that a feeling called subjective age may reflect the aging of the brain.
Using MRI scans of the brain, researchers found that older adults who feel younger than their age have fewer signs of brain aging compared to those who feel their age or older.
This study is the first to find a link between subjective age and brain aging.
The results suggest that older people who feel older than their age should take care of their brain health.
We tend to think of aging as a fixed process in which our bodies and minds steadily change. However, the passing years affect everyone differently. Our subjective age also varies - many of us feel older or younger than our actual age.
But is subjective age just a feeling, an attitude, or does it actually reflect how our bodies actually age? This question intrigued Dr. Zhening Chey of Seoul national university in Korea.
“Why do some people feel younger or older than their actual age?”- asks Chey. “Causes may be depression, individual differences or physical health. However, no one has studied the aging processes of the brain as possible reason differences in subjective age".
People often experience some cognitive decline as they age. In fact, the brain shows many age-related changes, which reflect a decline in neural health, including a reduction in gray matter volumes.
Newly developed techniques can help researchers identify brain functions associated with aging to provide predicted brain age.
Shay and her colleagues used these methods to investigate the relationship between subjective age and brain aging. They performed MRI brain scans on 68 healthy people whose ages ranged from 59-84 years old and looked at gray matter volumes in different areas of the brain.
Participants also completed a survey that included questions about whether they were older or younger than their age and questions assessing their cognitive abilities and perceptions of their overall health.
People who felt younger than their age scored higher on a memory test, believed they were in better health, and reported fewer depressive symptoms.
Those who felt younger than their age showed an increase in gray matter volume in key areas of the brain. The researchers used the MRI data to calculate the estimated brain age for the participants.
“We found that people who feel younger have the structural characteristics of a young brain.”, Chey said. “It is important to note that this difference remains noticeable even when other possible factors are taken into account, including personality, subjective health, depressive symptoms, or cognitive function.”
Researchers suggest that those who feel older may be sensing the aging process in their brains, as their loss of gray matter may make cognitive tasks more difficult.
However, researchers currently do not know for sure whether these brain characteristics are directly responsible for subjective age, and they will need to conduct long-term studies to further understand this relationship.
One important feature is that those who feel younger are more likely to lead more physically and mentally active lives, which can lead to improved brain health. However, for those who feel older, the opposite may be true.
“If someone feels older than their age, it may mean they can evaluate their lifestyle, habits and activities that may be contributing to brain aging and take steps to improve brain health.”, Chey said.
The study is part of a special collection of papers assessing brain aging across the lifespan.
How old do you feel?
Many people feel small because they are small and the Universe is big - but I feel big because my atoms came from those stars. There is a level of interconnection. This is what you really want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel important, you want to feel like you are a part of the happenings and events around you. This is what constitutes our essence, just to be alive...
If you want to know what you did in past life, - look at your current state.
If you want to know your future, look at your actions today.
People are the way you want them to be, look at them with kind eyes, and you will feel good, they will too, this will make them even better, and so will you! It's simple!
We should talk not about how to be happy, but about how to feel happy.
If you want to achieve a goal, you must “see it happening” in your mind before you actually achieve it.
Selfishness does not mean living the way you want, it is a requirement for others to live the way you want.
What you don't want to do for yourself, don't do to others.
Life doesn't give you the people you want. She gives you the people you need. They hurt you, they love you, they teach you, they break you in order to mold you into who you are meant to be.
Living the way you want is not selfishness. Selfishness is when others should think and live the way you want.
IF YOU ARE AN EMPATH, YOU CAN'T bear being around insincere people!
By definition, empaths are emotionally sensitive people who absorb the emotions and feelings of others. Sounds like tedious work, right? Imagine being able to absorb all these feelings while being around a fake person. It's puzzling, frustrating and excruciating.
Have you ever spent time with someone who seemed quite nice and kind to look at, but when you were close to them or sat next to them, you felt... terrible? You could barely form a sentence. In a conversational manner, it's because your sensitive antenna is picking up what's wrong. You know that what you see and what is actually happening are not the same, and this usually means that someone is hiding something.
Highly sensitive people need honest, deep and significant relationships with other people.
Why empaths behave strangely around insincere people:
Empaths are gifted at reading body language and energy. They do not tolerate lies or deception.
7 signs of a fake person that only empaths will understand:
He acts like a weak-willed person, so others automatically accept him.
He smiles and acts friendly, but in reality he is seething with anger and hatred.
He feels vulnerable and unprotected and tries to act tough.
He forces himself to act in a certain way that goes against his personality.
He constantly says nice things to get recognition.
He lies or exaggerates stories to make others like him.
After recognizing a fake person, empaths behave like this:
Avoid them. It's not that they're doing anything wrong, empaths just don't get positive vibes from them.
They form logical sentences and speak extremely complexly.
They feel fear approaching and discomfort around them. This only dissipates when the fakes go away.
Feel physically ill when spending long periods of time near them.
About how people live and treat certain objects in their homes. Since 2014, the company has studied morning routines, food, kitchens, and household disagreements. This year's survey took on a more existential tone, exploring themes of loneliness, belonging and the consequences of living in cities.
IKEA: “People feel less and less at home in rented apartments”
Anna SamoydyukTwo years ago, IKEA surveyed 22,000 people from 22 countries about where they felt “at home.” 20% of respondents said that they do not have such a feeling in their apartment. Two years later, that number had risen by 15% among respondents living in urban areas. In other words, 35% of city residents do not feel at home in their apartment.
On the one hand, people find a sense of belonging outside of ordinary living spaces - in a park or university. In fact, almost a quarter of those surveyed who live with someone feel more comfortable living outside. At the same time, living spaces are increasingly linked to people's livelihoods, with one in four respondents working from home more often.
On the other hand, 53% of young families do not feel that a rented apartment is their home. Only 57% of those surveyed, whether living with family or on their own, feel comfortable in their own apartment, and this number drops to 34% if you live with friends or strangers.
One man from Rome shared that he often hides in his car to find mental solitude. There are many such people: almost half of Americans seek privacy in cars, 72% go to the bedroom for this, 55% go to the bathroom. Only 45% feel comfortable and safe at home. “Life at home is changing dramatically around the world,” the report concluded.
This is consistent with much of the early 20th century research on the changing definition of home. But the surprising thing about this report is that Ikea, being one of the world's largest furniture and home goods retail chains, played an important role here. The corporation has more than 400 stores in 25 countries. Last year they were visited 936 million times. Today we are more renters than owners, so inexpensive furniture is a must. Writer Sarah Amandolare noted several years ago that the home has become less permanent than ever, and as a result we have stopped seeing it as a place for self-expression.
Ikea certainly helps people create a sense of comfort and belonging no matter where their home is. The report ends with an interactive quiz asking you questions about how you feel at home. Your responses are noted in an icon and then offered a personalized “manifesto” on how to make time and build community. “Everyone should feel a sense of home comfort, this is important,” the report says.
