A Harvard psychologist once tried 'reverse aging' men in their 70s by recreating 1959. He was blown away the results
When the men arrived, the magazines were from 1959, and the radio played music from the 50s.
"It's all in the mind" is a popular phrase said by the late George Harrison, a member of the Beatles. Health and wellness content creator Joe Moody (@joe_drummer_boy) shared a video on March 15, talking about Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer, who shared the same belief and tried to prove it through a radical experiment.
As per Business Insider, back in 1979, Langer invited eight men who were in their late 70s and early 80s to spend a week at a retreat. Moody divulged, "But this wasn't a formal retreat. When the men arrived, something felt off — the magazines were from 1959, the radio played music from the 50s, the TV showed old black and white programs." His video has gotten over 58.7k likes so far.
Langer wrote in her book Counterclockwise, "We would recreate the world of 1959 and ask subjects to live as though it were twenty years earlier. The men talked about their careers in the present tense, discussed the "current" news and events, and made no acknowledgements of their weakened physical state. Langer noted in her book that a week later, the men showed several improvements in their "physical strength, manual dexterity, gait, posture, perception, memory, cognition, taste sensitivity, hearing, and vision."
Bruce Grierson, who wrote about the experiment in The New York Times Magazine, explained how they maintained the illusion of the past: "Nothing — no mirrors, no modern-day clothing, no photos except portraits of their much younger selves—spoiled the illusion that they had shaken off 22 years." The experiments were done on two groups of men, 44% of the controlled group showed improvements in their intelligence scores, compared to 63% of the group who were told to live as if it were 1959.
In addition to the positive results, Langer also invited four volunteers to look at "before and after" photos of the men. The volunteers noticed that the men looked "two years younger" in the after photos. Moody reiterated on his video, "No medication, no surgery. Just a shift in environment and mindset." He continued, "The study suggested something very powerful. Your body may be listening to the story your mind tells about what is possible... think about how often you say things like, 'I'm too old for that. My back just does that now. I can't move like I used to.' Your body hears those sentences, and sometimes it obeys."
The connection between the mind and the body cannot be denied. A study on "Longevity Increased by Positive Self-Perceptions of Aging" was done on 660 participants in 2002. The individuals were aged 50 and above. They completed the "Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR)" survey, and the results showed, "older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging."
Moody's message to his audience, using Langer's experiment, is to stop "rehearsing the story of decline." He suggests treating yourself the way the men lived for a week, and maybe you will see changes in both your physical and mental capacity. Many people agreed with Joe Moody's advice on perceiving oneself. @poteetjan wrote, "No wonder I prefer the company of young people! Nieces and nephews. Grandchildren. When I’m around them, my aches and pains are lessened. I laugh. I smile. There is joy. Thank you for this post!"
@bodybyaudra shared, "Yesss! This is the speech I have to give to all my clients. The culture has programmed that by a certain 'age' you will feel like most of your body is supposed to feel broken down. If I had a dollar for every one of my patients who said, 'I’m just getting Old.' I’m a mess! How we talk and think of ourselves, the body tends to try and prove it."
You can follow Joe Moody (@joe_drummer_boy) for more health and wellness content.
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