Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Ageing Determine How Long and Well You Live

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I can see more clearly how harmful age-related beliefs have hurt me, from when I was hesitant to try things in my youth because I thought myself to be "too young" up until now, when I worry about attempting something due to being "too old." And certainly, I should stop makes assumptions about others due to their age as well. American author and activist Betty Friedan once observed: “Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” Many life lessons are subtly infused along with the story that made it an absolute favourite read for me. Like for instance how majority of illness be it CVDs, hearing impairment or memory its root cause not age but rather the stereotypical mindset that comes with ageing. Ageism in the workplace has cost many senior workers with years of valuable experience in their jobs, livelihoods, and feelings of self-worth. Two-thirds of workers in America said they have witnessed or personally experienced age discrimination in their place of work, according to an AARP survey. People who had positive beliefs about ageing were 47% less likely to develop dementia than those with negative beliefs.

Only 25% of our health in old age is due to our genes. 75% is environmental. Some of that environment we cannot easily change (pollution, clean water etc) but a lot we do have control over. Your perception/interpretation of aging is one thing in your control. Studies have shown over and over and over that people who have positive age beliefs live, on average, 7 1/2 years older than those with negative beliefs. Not to mention, their lives are more enjoyable! Ageism robs us of optimism for the longer lives we have created, and it disables the future of the young and the old.Becca Levy shows us how this happens, and how we solve it.We need to collectively follow her prescriptions.When we do so, we will create the potential of longer lives that young people can look forward to and older people can live their fullest in.” Neuroplasticity continues as we age with the ability to stay flexible and sprout new neural connections. Some memories improve, for example Semantic Memory (recall of general knowledge). Some stay the same, for example Procedural Memory (such as how to ride a bike), and some decline, such as Episodic Memory (recall of a specific experience).

Dislodging the stereotypes

Doc: Yes, we are excited to present our research—and, uhh, "oldster" is an example of the endemic ageism in— Breaking the Age Codeis a landmark work, presenting not only easy-to-follow techniques for improving age beliefs so they can contribute to successful aging, but also a blueprint to reduce structural ageism for lasting change and an age-just society. People can be just as creative in older life, with many artists and writers exhibiting more depth and emotional resonance in their later works. For example, Michelangelo’s two Pietas (one done in his twenties, the next in his seventies), Joseph Turner, and George Eliot, to name a few. Breaking the Age Code tells us about: The "review" below won't tell you much about the book itself. It will tell you a lot about how the ideas in the book related to my life experiences. If you are trying to work out if you should read this book or not, this review might not help you much.

The time has come to shift from an age-declining to an age-thriving mindset, according to Levy, who presents a blueprint for overcoming structural ageism in her book. Everybody wants to know how to live longer and more joyfully, and this guide uses insights to help you enhance your odds of doing just that.” — Men’s Journal, Most Highly Anticipated Books of 2022 Breaking the Age Code is written by Dr Becca Levy, a professor of Epidemiology and an expert in the field of ageing, who writes in a warm and personable way. What does Breaking the Age Code Teach Us? Our Attitude Affects Our Own Health and Ability as we Age This book is downright amazing, giving me the chance to consider aging in a completely new light. I'm quite glad I started reading it, almost on a whim, if I recall, looking over newly released books. I was just interested enough to give it a try, perhaps due to being the right age that such matters as ageism are starting to perk my interest. But the topic of this book is very much an issue for people of all ages, I would have liked to have been more aware of these issues decades ago. Your discussion of views toward the elderly in Japan and the deaf community are remarkably powerful.The increase in negativity is due in part to the rise of advertisement and the growth of the antiaging industry,” says Levy, who has studied American age beliefs in written language spanning the past two centuries. “Companies have made a lot of money promoting negative images of aging as a way to sell their anti-aging products.”

My major takeaway from this book is that ageism killed my father. He was doing just fine into his late 80s -- playing tennis most mornings, resting afterwards, writing the tennis column for a local newspaper, enjoying social events with his tennis buddies. Yes, there were some non-tennis events too: visiting art museums, socializing with his wife's art club buddies, playing bridge, socializing with bridge friends. Based on her innovative research, stories that range from pop culture to the corporate boardroom, and her own life, Levy shows how age beliefs shape all aspects of our lives. She also presents a variety of fascinating people who have benefited from positive age beliefs as well as an entire town that has flourished with these beliefs. Over the past 20 years, Levy has conducted groundbreaking studies on different health conditions affected by attitudes toward aging. Her results show some surprising results: This book will shatter some of your basic assumptions about ageing - and how we can lead longer, healthier and happier lives. Becca Levy is the world's foremost expert on the psychology of ageing, and she shares rigorous, remarkable evidence that one of the best ways to stay mentally and physically fit is to rethink your stereotypes about what it means to be an older person. Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling authorThis is the question that led leading expert and researcher Dr Becca Levy to discover a fascinating truth: just changing the way you think about ageing can add years to your life. While Levy’s research underscores the value of celebrating our advancing years as a time for creativity, exploration, and accomplishment, today’s reality is often quite different. All too frequently, personal views, cultural stereotypes, and institutional biases about aging are tilted in a negative direction. At last, Professor Becca Levy shows how we can harness the power of the mind to live a longer and more fulfilling life. She brings a unique perspective about a question we are all concerned with: what happens as we age and get older? She brilliantly shows how we can successfully age. The book offers great insights and it is a must-read!' Dr Itiel Dror, senior neurocognitive researcher, University College London This book differs from other books I've read on ageism in that the myths are countered by scientific studies. The studies are summarized so that the reading is easy but they are endnoted so that those with ability to sift through empirical research can go to the original and test methods and results. Though the studies appear throughout the book they are handily listed in an appendix at the end: myth plus studies it refutes plus endnote number. Most memorable is the discussion of life expectency: people with a positive view of aging live 7.5 years longr than those with negative views. This book will shatter some of your basic assumptions about aging—and how we can lead longer, healthier, and happier lives. Becca Levy is the world’s foremost expert on the psychology of aging, and she shares rigorous, remarkable evidence that one of the best ways to stay mentally and physically fit is to rethink your stereotypes about what it means to be an older person.”