London, April 12 (Inditop.com) The older we get, the more different we become, says a new research that studied people from their 70th to 90th year of life.
“Old people are usually thought of as a rather homogenous group — they are considered to be ill, lonely and unable to take care of themselves. But the truth is that the differences among people grow with age,” says Bo G. Eriksson of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
As part of his doctoral thesis, Eriksson studied a group of randomly selected individuals born in 1901 and 1902. He focused on the period from their 70th to their 90th year of life and, according to him, people become more and more different as they age.
“The perception of old people having similar interests, values and lifestyles can lead to age discrimination. However, I found that as people age, these stereotypes become more and more untrue,” says Eriksson.
He also studied differences in causes of death with increasing age, and again found indications of possible age discrimination.
Eriksson explored how social conditions can affect longevity, and found four mechanisms at work.
The first two relate to creation of social facts. Examples of social facts include promises and agreements that strengthen the identities of individuals. The third mechanism relates to how a person builds and maintains self esteem by successfully responding to challenges.
The fourth mechanism consists of everyday conversations, which decrease anxiety and offer support in everyday decision-making, improves attention and gives the brain and the memory a healthy workout, says a Gothenburg release.
“Taken together, these mechanisms also contribute to increased everyday activity, which has some beneficial physical effects,” says Eriksson.
