Successful Ageing for Baby Boomers
Successful ageing is not an oxymoron, according to Sherry Cooper, Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets and author of The New Retirement. Boomers can learn to age well through a growing body of scientific research that now suggests a number of predictive elements and learned behaviours can add healthy productive years to our lives.
Healthy older brains are better at dealing with complex situations that you have dealt with for many years, having the benefit of so much experience. Research also suggests certain predictors of how well an individual in mid-life is likely to age. These include no substance abuse; a good stable marriage; education and ongoing reading; brain work; exercise, normal body weight; and a positive attitude towards life. Mid-lifers who exhibit these characteristics have a greater likelihood of ageing well.
Education trumps money and social prestige as a route to happiness and health. Education is more than one or two university degrees earned ages ago. It is an ongoing interest in the world around you, reading newspapers, books, and other sources of information and awareness.
Continued brain work - be it through reading or writing, attending lectures or taking classes, playing bridge or chess, or doing crossword puzzles - exercises the brain and makes it more resilient. It also strengthens the immune system. Also, mental and physical exercise increases feel-good hormones.
We are never too old to learn, and under normal circumstances, we can continue to learn nearly as long as we live.
