Prof Velandai Srikanth is the director of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing. He has spent decades producing highly regarded research published in leading scientific journals and securing funding from some of the world’s largest scientific bodies. He is, by every professional metric, at the peak of his career.
Then he turned 60.
Almost immediately, Srikanth says somebody said ‘so when are you going to retire?’
The question left him feeling surprised. For Srikanth, a geriatrician, the comment served as a sudden, personal encounter with the stigma of aging—the perception that reaching a certain age naturally leads to a transition away from professional productivity.
In his clinical work, Srikanth observes a stark divide in how people approach the third age
. Some view it as a trajectory of decline and decrepitude; others see it as a period of opportunity and excitement. According to research, the difference between these two perspectives is not just a matter of mood—it may actually change the physical trajectory of a person’s life.
The link between mindset and physical mobility
The impact of these beliefs is measurable. Prof Becca Levy and her colleague Dr Martin Slade, from the Yale School of Public Health, analyzed more than 11,000 people between the ages of 50 and 99 to determine how attitudes toward aging correlate with physical and cognitive changes over time.
The findings, reported by The Guardian, showed that individuals with positive attitudes toward aging performed better in memory tests, mathematics, and walking speed than those with negative views.
More surprisingly, a significant number of participants actually improved over the 12-year study timeframe compared to their starting point. Specifically, 44% of participants showed improvements in cognition and walking speed over an average eight-year follow-up. Those who entered the study with a positive outlook were more likely to be among those who improved.
This suggests that the progression of aging is not necessarily a linear decline. Researchers found that while people often point to individuals who improve in later life, society tends to classify them as exceptions or exemplars
rather than seeing them as a possible outcome of a positive mindset.
The data from the Trinity College tracking survey on ageing, known as TILDA, echoes these results. Prof Ian Robertson, Prof Emeritus of Psychology in Trinity College, noted that individuals with negative expectations about aging walked significantly slower two years later
than those who maintained a positive view.
Cognitive flexibility and the danger of anxiety
The mental toll of age-related stigma often manifests as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Prof Robertson, speaking at the annual general meeting of the Irish College of General Practitioners, explained that the way people interpret minor lapses in memory can either be benign or debilitating.
A person in their 30s who forgets a name rarely considers it a symptom of a disease. However, a person in their 70s may view the same lapse as an early sign of dementia. This shift in perception can lead to a cycle where worrying about memory produces anxiety, and that anxiety, in turn, consumes the very mental resources and memory space the person is worried about losing.
This mindset is linked to a reduction in cognitive flexibility and a slight decrease in social activity. The danger, Robertson argues, is the tendency to confuse the natural process of aging with pathology.
“We must not confuse disease with age. It is not a disease,” Prof Ian Robertson, Prof Emeritus of Psychology in Trinity College
Evidence suggests that cognitive performance is not solely tied to a birth date. Data from an International Monetary Fund study of 41 countries found that the cognitive performance of a 70-year-old in 2020 was the same as that of a 53-year-old in 2000. This suggests that the “age” of the brain is influenced by broader temporal and societal shifts, and that a 60-year-old today is less likely to develop dementia than someone of the same age twenty years ago.
The drivers of a successful ‘Third Age’
While mindset provides the foundation, researchers emphasize that positive thinking alone is not a cure-all. Prof Robertson argues that the ability to function well into the fifties and beyond depends on two primary drivers: effort and purpose
.
The risk of aging is not just physical decline, but the onset of lethargy. Robertson warns that it is too easy to become lazy
and that individuals must make a conscious effort to stay active. This effort does not necessarily mean traditional employment; it can involve community committees or helping others. The act of doing something with effort is described as being intrinsically more rewarding than activity without effort.
This distinction is particularly visible in the difference between cultural norms of retirement. In countries like Italy and France, early retirement is common. However, Robertson suggests this may not be healthy. He notes that retirees in Italy may spend their time in the piazza, but their memory function can be significantly lower than that of 65-year-olds in Ireland or Florida who remain engaged in purposeful activity.
Ultimately, the research suggests that the retirement question encountered by professionals like Srikanth reflects a broader societal tendency to associate aging with a loss of utility. By replacing the idea of inevitable decline with a commitment to effort and purpose, older adults may better support their cognitive and physical health as they age.