Positive thinking v.s.aging 正面思维抗衰老

1. 来了一批老人家和我们一起学拉丁舞.我不看好他们会学下去，但原来他们越学越开心,不易放弃。我也开始跟他们玩起来。方知他们是我长期羡慕的那些“不老的年轻人”- 早上的深湾海滩，大浪的瀑布湾都可见到他们的泳装和泳姿，春夏秋冬。
   
   从他们自在的笑容，直挺健硕的身板，向难度挑站的享受，我发现自己好老，好矮，好像在他们身上，找不到“ISSUES”，“困难”和不知哪来的烦恼...
   
   原来年龄已不是学习新东西的借口。
   
   突然意识到，越懂得享受新事物，欣赏新事物的人，越有动力学习，也越有“CHANGING" power.
   
   If we have will, we have ways.
   If you don't want, you have thousands of excuses.
   
   "It's not how good you are; it's how good you want to be!" A book that I read again and again.

   
   

   2. This reminds me an research report and article on the relation between aging and positive thinking:

   
   

   http://easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/three-easy-ways-to-fight-aging-by-simply-thinking-the-right-thoughts/

   
   

   a.

   In one particular study, performed at the at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), researchers found that a common form of anxiety, known as phobic anxiety, shaved off protective layers from DNA that are called telomeres.

   b

   If you let cranky family members, rude cab drivers or even silly talking heads on television stress you out, you may be doing damage to your cellular DNA that is aging you faster.

   Dodge Dementia With Attitude Adjustment
   Your telomeres aren’t the only part of your body that benefits from pointing your thoughts in the right direction. Your mental capacity also can fight off the effects of aging if you embrace a younger attitude.
   Research at the University of Exeter in England shows that your attitude toward aging has a significant impact on your vulnerability to dementia. This study found that when seniors see themselves as older, their performance on a standard dementia screening test declines dramatically. Considering yourself as “over the hill” makes you five times more likely to meet the criteria for dementia.
   The scientists studied 68 people aged between 60 and 70 years, who were primed to either feel older or younger than others taking part in the study. Those in the “older” group were told that participants ranged in age from 40 to 70, encouraging them to think of themselves as being at the older end of the age spectrum. Those in the “younger” group were told that participants’ ages ranged from 60 to 90 years, encouraging them to think of themselves at the lower end of the age spectrum.
   When the participants completed a standard dementia screening test, 70 percent of people who were encouraged to see themselves as older and to believe that aging was associated with a general decline in ability met the criterion for dementia. This was compared to only 14 percent in the other groups.
   In other words, these people’s relationship to brain dysfunction was altered simply by their attitude.
   Exeter researcher Catherine Haslam says: “Our research shows that the effect of age perceptions on performance can be dramatic, and that seeing oneself as ‘older’ significantly increases a person’s risk of being diagnosed with dementia on such tests.”
   
   c.
   
   In research at a meditative retreat, the scientists found that meditators experienced more perceived control (over one’s life and surroundings), mindfulness (being able to observe one’s experience in a nonreactive manner) and purpose in life (viewing one’s life as meaningful, worthwhile and aligned with long-term goals and values). In addition, they enjoyed decreased neuroticism, or negative emotionality.
   Many experts have pointed out that the most effective pharmacy is the one located between your ears. Healthy thoughts and emotions encourage the secretion of healthy natural chemicals in your body that fight aging and boost immunity while fending off disease. Instead of drinking from the fountain of youth, try thinking from it.