Being Young at Heart Really Can Help You Live Longer

How old do you feel? Do you feel like a 30-year-old in the body of a 60-year-old or do you feel like a 30-year-old in the body of an 18-year-old? Think carefully about your answer.

A new study says there might be a key to enjoying a long, healthy life beyond just exercising and eating well.

Researchers found that our attitudes impact our lives and bodies in a pretty major way.

Scientists tracked more than 6,000 senior citizens for over a decade and discovered the key to living longer might be just “feeling” young. In the study, adults who felt younger had a 14 percent death rate compared to an almost 25 percent death rate for people who felt older.

Feeling older also strongly predicted death, even when things like illnesses, wealth, education, smoking, alcohol intake, and physical activity were considered.

The bottom line? Older-feeling adults were about 40 percent more likely to die than younger-feeling adults.