You're Only as Old as You Feel

Each of us has a chronological age, the number we commemorate on birthdays.

我们每个人都有一个实际年龄，就是我们过生日时庆祝的那个数字。

But some 50-, 60- and 70-year-olds look and feel youthful, while others do not.

但是，有一些50岁、60岁以及70岁的人看起来依然年轻有活力，而其他人则不是。

Scientists can measure these differences by looking at age-related biomarkers — things like skin elasticity, blood pressure, lung capacity and grip strength.

科学家们可以通过观察与年龄相关的身体迹象来判断这些差异，如皮肤弹性、血压、肺活量和手握力。

People with a healthy lifestyle and living conditions and a fortunate genetic inheritance tend to score "younger" on these assessments and are said to have a lower "biological age."

拥有健康的生活方式、良好的生活条件以及优良的遗传基因的人往往能获得 “更年轻” 的评价，并且被估计的 “生理年龄” 也更低。

But there's a much easier way to determine the shape people are in. It's called "subjective age."

但是有一种简单得多的方法可以确定人们的状况，那就是 “主观年龄”。

When scientists ask: "How old do you feel, most of the time?" the answer tends to reflect the state of people's physical and mental health.

当科学家问：“大多数时候，你认为你多少岁？” 答案通常能反应人的身体和心理的健康状态。

"This simple question seems to be particularly powerful," says Antonio Terracciano, a professor of geriatrics at Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee.

“这个简单的问题似乎十分有效”，安东尼奥·特拉奇亚诺称，他是一名研究老年医学的教授，在塔拉哈希的佛罗里达州立大学医学院工作。

Scientists are finding that people who feel younger than their chronological age are typically healthier and more psychologically resilient than those who feel older.

科学家们发现比起那些感觉自己比实际年龄更老的人，感觉自己更年轻的人通常身体更健康并且心理承受力更强。

They perform better on memory tasks and are at lower risk of cognitive decline.

他们在记忆任务方面表现更好，认知能力下降的风险也更低。

In a study published in 2018, a team of South Korean researchers scanned the brains of 68 healthy older adults and found that those who felt younger than their age had thicker brain matter and had endured less age-related deterioration.

在2018年发表的一项研究中，韩国的一个研究团队扫描了68位健康老人的大脑，发现那些感觉自己比实际年龄更年轻的人脑组织更厚，年龄引起的身体衰退更少。

By contrast, people who feel older than their chronological age are more at risk for hospitalization, dementia and death.

与之相反的是，感觉自己比实际年龄更大的人住院、痴呆以及死亡的风险都更高。

If you're over 40, chances are you feel younger than your driver's license suggests. Some 80 percent of people do, according to Dr. Stephan. A small fraction of people —fewer than 10 percent — feel older.

如果你已经年过40岁，可能会感觉自己比驾照上看起来年轻。据斯蒂芬博士说，大约80%的人会这样认为。一小部分人 —— 不到10% —— 会觉得自己更老。

The discrepancy between felt and actual age increases with the years, Dr. Terracciano said.

特拉奇亚诺博士说，感觉的年龄与实际年龄之间的差距会随着年纪的增加而扩大。

At age 50, people may feel about five years, or 10 percent, younger, but by the time they're 70 they may feel 15 percent or even 20 percent younger.

50岁的时候，人们可能觉得自己年轻5岁左右或者是比实际年龄小10%，但是当他们到70岁的时候，可能会感觉自己比实际年龄小15%甚至20%。

By simply asking people how old they feel, doctors might be able to identify who is most at risk for health problems.

通过简单询问人们感觉自己年龄多大，医生也许能够确定谁出现健康问题的风险最高。

2025年7月24日于经典龙苑