Aging Is Not All Doom and Gloom
Benefits of growing older include increased patience, resilience and contributions to society
From dementia and diabetes to hearing loss and failing eyesight, as well as myriad other health issues, the stereotypes associated with getting older are far from positive or upbeat. But, ascending the elevator of age is not all gloom and doom.
"Older adults have a lot to contribute to the world," says Alan Cohen, associate professor of environmental health sciences in the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center. "Ageism takes away what they can contribute. Cultural devaluation of older adults has a major impact on their health and well-being ... If we could rethink the roles of older adults in a society and create important roles for them, their health and well-being improve and the whole society benefits."

The Columbia Aging Center is tasked to bring about a change in the societal narrative around aging by helping create a third demographic dividend to harness the power of older adults, including their wisdom and knowledge for stronger economies, societies and social networks.
As lifespans have lengthened and health at older ages has improved, it's important to revisit, acknowledge and promote the varied areas that get better with age and how the older adults can stay healthy and contribute to societies with their experiences and skills.
Benefits of Aging
To begin, patience and perspective rise with age and varied life encounters bring a higher sense of acceptance of self and others aiding older adults in making smart decisions that are not just for attaining personal goals or gains but are more altruistic. Wisdom and empathy also ascend with age.
According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), "Aging may also bring positive cognitive changes. For example, many studies have shown that older adults have larger vocabularies and greater knowledge of the depth of meaning of words than younger adults. They may also be more learned from their many years of accumulated knowledge and experiences."
"Research has shown that older adults have greater psychological resilience and are better at dealing with complex problems, being more we-focused than me-focused."
Research has busted the myth that aging past 70 has no benefits. The ability to resolve conflicts strengthens with age and aging is also associated with more positive overall emotional well-being. Older adults are emotionally more stable than younger adults and better at regulating desires. Although cognitive processing slows down with age, the slowdown is usually on the order of milliseconds and doesn't always make a meaningful difference in daily life.
"Older adults have accumulated a lifetime of experiences and wisdom. Research has shown that older adults have greater psychological resilience and are better at dealing with complex problems, being more we-focused than me-focused," Cohen says.
Similarly, desire for connections and the means to promote them via time and money also increase with age. Age helps us be more thankful for things that youth tend to take for granted. A walk can feel energizing, and a heart-to-heart talk can be more fulfilling.
Besides the small pleasures and experiences of life, gratitude for families, resources, physical, mental and financial health allowing us to partake in life also increases as we get older.
"Meaning and fulfillment are the biggest determinants of health. Waking up every morning knowing that you have something to contribute to the world fulfills you and keeps your health better. This being the strongest factor more than exercise or diet for health," Cohen says.
Study after study also indicates the importance and direct relationship of good physical and emotional health with staying socially connected and engaged. Isolation is toxic for older people. You have to maintain engagement in your community and interaction with other people. In addition to social engagement, physical activity is paramount to aging successfully.
"Aging has a lot to do with the mindset. It's important to break the spiral of negative thoughts, as the mind can play havoc."
Social activity can be achieved either by staying in the labor force or volunteering. Both are effective and offer tremendous benefits to cognition, cerebral and physical health. A study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, The Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center, and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health highlight the importance of cognitive stimulation during midlife for maintaining cognitive function in old age.
Vinita Gupta, age 74, is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and a board member of Palo Alto Medical Foundation. For over 20 years, she keeps herself active by playing competitive bridge, painting and writing. "I recall a saying that aging people's world dies before they die. Aging has a lot to do with the mindset. It's important to break the spiral of negative thoughts, as the mind can play havoc. It's important to remain engaged in meaningful work and make small changes to one's lifestyle for positivity," Gupta says.
Positivity, Purpose and Passion
Countless older folks make a difference in their families, communities and the world by embracing their later years with positivity, purpose and passion. From volunteering for social causes and civic organizations to helping out partners with health needs and families with childcare and homecare, the contributions of the older adults to societies are varied and many.
Some are also engaged in second careers, including being professional mentors for young people in places of work or in volunteer capacities.
For improving physical health, for adults 65 and older, the Centers for Disease Control recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity, like hiking, jogging or running. Brisk walking, 30 minutes a day, five days a week is shown to give you around the same benefits as running. Any physical activity is more beneficial than having a sedentary lifestyle. Inactivity is harmful for not just physical health but also mental and emotional health.
While research is still ongoing on the various factors including genetic and environmental reasons on why we age differently, initial results show that it's wrong to assume that the natural course of aging is downward.
Diversity in Aging
Not everyone ages similarly, aging is highly variable with some people getting healthier with age. According to the latest World Health Organization's fact sheet, there is no typical older person. Some 80-year-olds have physical and mental capacities similar to many 30-year-olds. Other people experience significant declines in capacities at much younger ages. A comprehensive public health response must address this wide range of older people's experiences and needs.
The diversity seen in older age is not random. A large part arises from people's physical and social environments and the impact of these environments on their opportunities and health behavior. The relationship we have with our environments is skewed by personal characteristics such as the family we were born into, our gender and our ethnicity, leading to inequalities in health.
"A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for societies."
Research findings by John Rowe, a professor of health policy and aging at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, have shown that in the six years after turning 75, about half of people show little to no change in their physical, biological, hormonal and cognitive functioning, whereas the other half changed a lot.
"Immune aging is a well-known aspect of aging. Health needs are different at different ages and it is not necessary that with age health goes down." Cohen says.
According to the WHO fact sheet, "A longer life brings with it opportunities, not only for older people and their families, but also for societies. Additional years provide the chance to pursue new activities such as further education, a new career or a long-neglected passion. Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and communities. Yet the extent of these opportunities and contributions depends heavily on one factor: health."

She also writes poetry and her poems have been published in several anthologies. She is a monthly contributor to Masticadores USA and Spillwords Press. She was originally from New Delhi and now resides in California with her husband and two daughters. Read More