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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 4th.

In today’s email:

• Learn: Mind Over Matter

• Try: Re-Think “OLD”

• Read: The Mindful Body

• In the News: Pain or Progress?

Stat of the Day

Increased likelihood that someone with mild cognitive impairment (early signs of dementia) will recover and regain normal cognition if they have a positive belief about their age and what’s still possible. (JAMA Research Study)

Learn

Mind Over Matter

How much of our aging starts in our mind?

Back in 1979, Dr. Ellen Langer - Harvard psychology professor - took eight guys in their 70s and sent them back in time.

She had recreated the year 1959 - the men would hear Perry Como on the radio and watch Ed Sullivan on the back-and-white television. Absolutely everything was from 20 years earlier.

More importantly, the place didn’t have any mirrors and the men had to take care of themselves all on their own - like they did in their 50s. They had to carry their own bags up to their rooms - even as some of the guys currently used canes.

The before and after results of the study were pretty nuts - the group showed improvement in physical strength, manual dexterity, gait, posture, perception, memory, cognition, hearing, and vision.

While we’ve seen advances to improve our cognitive health - it’s been thought to be impossible to improve hearing and vision loss without medical intervention.

An independent group of volunteers reviewed the before and after photos of the men. The group believed the after photos were a full two years younger than the before photos - and this was just after a week!

Dr. Langer didn’t publish this study - it was small and short. She didn’t think it would get published. But she’s since recreated the experiment along with many other studies showing that - our health starts in our mind.

We Are What We Think

Another now-famous study from Dr. Langer - she gave house plants to nursing home residents.

Some were told they have to take care of the plant on their own - and it was up to them to figure out the schedule (e.g., when to water it or give it sunlight). Others were told the nurses would take care of the plants for them.

Those who got control of the plants were 2x happier and had higher survival rates over the next few years.

In another study - hotel housekeepers (they were called chambermaids in the study - but we’ll go with housekeepers) were either told 1) their work is actually exercise, with details on how each task is just like using a machine at the gym, or 2) general health information.

The first group - which now believed they were working out every day - lost weight, their waist-to-hip ratio declined and their blood pressure went down.

Our health depends on our sense of purpose and control.

Mind-Body Unity

Since these studies, Dr. Langer has continued to investigate how much our mind affects our health. She’s now convinced that there isn’t a mind-body connection, but that they’re actually the same thing (“mind-body unity” theory).

This shows up when we see that positive thoughts - when pleasure centers in our brain were stimulated - can boost antibacterial and anti-tumor immunity.

There is no doubt that there are real bugs out there - when we get an infection or a virus. And just thinking about working out isn’t as good as actually working out.

But there’s a reason good relationships, having fun, feeling a sense of purpose all matter to our health - because it starts in our mind.

So what story are you telling yourself about your health?

Maybe we should all go back and live like it was 20 years ago (watching Harry Potter and Wedding Crashers in our huge jeans with a long-sleeved shirt under a graphic tee).

Try

Re-think “OLD”

When do you feel old?

• Is it when you throw your back out?

• Forget where you left your headphones?

• See some gray when you look in the mirror?

On the flip side, when do you feel young?

Keeping up with 20-somethings during a workout class? Wrestling with your kids? Going for a 2-mile walk?

We all have times that will remind us that aging is real. But we can still decide how often we feel old and how often we feel young.

Put yourself in those situations where you feel young more often

AND

Redefine the label when you feel old.

Everyone forgets things; even 30-somethings throw out their back; gray is a sign of wisdom.

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Read

The Mindful Body

It’s a pretty quick read - but very thought-provoking on how your brain controls your health. Dr. Langer goes through her entire set of research - from why we follow rules that don’t make any sense to why most people are very rational based on how they view risk. If you need any more convincing that you can control your current and future health - I’m pretty sure you’ll find it here.

H&L in the News

Pain or Progress?: Learn when workout pain is normal - and when it's a red flag. Experts break down the signs to stop, recover, or push through safely. Move smarter, not harder. (NYTimes)

Live Fully, Not Forever: Chasing eternal youth is a losing game. Instead of plasma swaps and biohacking, real longevity is about living deeply - savoring experiences, relationships, and the privilege of growing older with meaning. (Outside)

Science or Scam? The Truth Behind “Scienceploitation”: From wellness trends to miracle cures, misleading science is everywhere. Learn how to spot "scienceploitation" and protect yourself from misinformation in an age of information overload. (Big Think)

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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

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To health!