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How defying ageism can help you live longer
18th September, 2026 04:41 PM
Research shows a positive attitude towards ageing can make people feel younger and live longer. Here’s how to fight ageism in your own life.
“Ageism can change how we view ourselves.”
That’s according to The World Health Organization’s global report on ageism. And addressing this bias – how we harmfully think, feel or act towards people, or ourselves, on the basis of age – is critical for creating a more equal world, it argues.
There are health benefits of defying ageism too – as research suggests that it can make people feel younger and live longer. More on that later.
It’s true that you can be any age and experience ageism. Take Gen-Z for example, those born between 1997 and 2012, who are often branded as “lazy” by older generations. It does mostly affects older adults though, and most of the research on ageism has focused on this demographic.
In the UK, one in three people experience age-based prejudice or discrimination. In a US study, 93% of 2,000 adults aged between 50 and 80 years old said they experienced some form of everyday ageism. Internalised ageism was the most common, followed by exposure to ageist messaging.
“The interesting part of this whole phenomenon is the person who is ageist is going to be aged at some point in time,” says Parminder Raina, scientific director at the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging in Canada. By 2030, one in six adults in the world will be aged 60 or over. “Ageism is a very personal issue. But people don’t recognise it as a personal issue.”
Negative attitudes towards ageing are often inherited in the early years of life, from our parents, the media or biased memories, even as early as three, according to one study. As a result, one researcher suggests that children must be educated on ageing from a young age to ensure their effective understanding of the life cycle, and to better prepare them for their own ageing process.
Ageing is not a destructive force. It is actually a remarkable achievement of the modern public health system – Parminder Raina
After all, the way we talk about ageing can affect how we feel about it, and in turn the way we live. Consider the language used in popular media – which undoubtedly can shape our views. Raina gives the example of the phrase “grey tsunami”, a metaphor which infers that our rapidly ageing population is a problem.
“Tsunami is a very destructive force. Ageing is not a destructive force. It is actually a remarkable achievement of the modern public health system,” he says.
A self-fulfilling prophecy
Ageism can cause older adults to internalise and confine themselves to negative stereotypes. For example, they may become less willing to accept new learning opportunities when they are perfectly capable of doing so, which can lead to low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence. This is referred to as the stereotype embodiment theory – where stereotypes are unconsciously assimilated, internalised and then influence day-to-day functioning and health.
In other words, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Studies show the concept of “stereotype threat” also feeds into this low self-confidence – if people are made aware of their age before they do a certain task, for example, they’re likely to perform worse in that task. “One explanation is that it’s because of the anxiety that’s induced,” says Hannah Swift, reader of social and organisational psychology at the University of Kent in the UK. “If we were to be judged by somebody [in relation to somebody younger taking part], the stereotype infers an expectation, which then might make you feel worried or anxious, because there’s this stigma attached to the stereotype.”
One ageist stereotype is that all old people are weak and frail, says Raina. “And that’s far from the truth… [most] older people live in their communities, live independently, function, and contribute to their local communities through volunteerism or whatever else they do.”
But some older people do have complex needs, he adds. “They might have major health challenges, but that proportion is much smaller than the ones who are ageing in a very functional and a healthy fashion.”
It’s worth remembering that many of the negative stereotypes around ageing are socially constructed – for example, if someone was to say a person is “too old to be studying”, who dictates what age is too old?
In fact, one study on individuals’ personal perception of their age (the age they feel, or their “subjective age”) versus their actual age, found that those with a positive attitude towards ageing felt younger. Another 10-year longitudinal study in the US found that those with an older subjective age predicted lower life satisfaction.
No limits
Ageism and self-stereotyping can cause people to suffer from health problems such as reduced physical performance and impaired cognitive function. It can also lead to symptoms of poor mental health like depression and anxiety, and affect how often older people seek social contact – the exclusion can make them more prone to loneliness and isolation.
“We have seen it again and again [in our research] that [older] people are trainable – their body, their muscle, growth can happen, they can become very active and live functionally,” Raina says. “So, there is no limit to what humans can do.”
People with positive perceptions of ageing might even live longer.
Becca Levy, professor of epidemiology and psychology at the Yale School of Public Health in Connecticut, and author of Breaking the Age Code, found that individuals with positive age beliefs lived on average seven and a half years longer than those with less positive perceptions on ageing. “It is a substantial advantage, and that finding has actually been replicated in a number of different countries,” Levy says.
