Slowing down the clock on your ageing process may be simpler than you think. Findings of a study show that elderly people who feel young inside show lesser signs of brain ageing. So a person who’s young at heart may age at a slower rate than his friend who have come to terms with his senility. Reasearcher Jeanyung Chey from Seoul National University in South Korea says, “We tend to think of ageing as a fixed process, where our bodies and minds change steadily.

However, the passing years affect everyone differently. How old we feel, which is called our subjective age, also varies between people -- with many feeling older or younger than their actual age.” The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Ageing Neuroscience. It featured 59-84 year olds who were subjected to MRI brain scans to look at grey matter volumes in various regions of the brain.

The result of the study showed that people who felt younger than their age were more likely to score higher on a memory test, considering they had better health and had lesser depressive symptoms. They also had increased grey matter volume in main areas of the brain. To have a younger brain, you need to feel young, according to the researchers.

The researchers believe that those who feel older in their head may sense that their ageing due to their failing memory. One reason could be that those who feel younger are more likely to be more active physically and mentally, which could improve brain health. But those who feel older, will tend to shy away from physical activities, which can age their brains even further.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2018 06:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).