Age Perfect
A weekend read. On this edition we discuss the word senior, psychological age, and the longevity divide.
Time passes quickly. So quick that I can’t believe it has been a month since my last post. Hope you enjoyed the break. There is so much information these days, so many newsletters, so many thought leaders, it’s an art to strike the balance between adding true value and not just trying to occupy mental space for the sake of it.
Speaking of the right balance, why do companies not follow examples like that of giants like L’Oréal? Such corporations obviously have the capital and resources to invest heavily in market studies to figure out how to best reach their intended target demographics. In the case of an older consumer, their line named “Age Perfect”, should be more of an inspiration. I say this because the only thing I find “old” lately is calling people over 50, seniors.
If I was an investor in startups in the aging space I would know that companies pitching products for people over 50 calling them “seniors” did not do their homework or market study. Have they talked to them? Seen them? I am not sure when “senior” becomes appropriate, maybe when I am 80 I will love the label, but I doubt it. That’s a different discussion. Pitching not too long to a venture capitalist I went as far as to say “I date men over 50, trust me when I say there is nothing senior about them”, to prove my point, maybe I take my market studies too far. I am currently running a poll on this if you want to chime in and/or see the results: Twitter Poll You will be shocked…
The importance of Psychological Age
A recently published study in the Aging Journal by famous longevity luminaries, Sergey Young and Dr Alex Zhavoronkov, and Maria Mitina, denotes that psychological age has an impact in your overall health. You can literally fight off disease by how old you feel; this strengthens my point that the values/labels we ascribe to older adults, and our own personal self-perception, matter so much. All those times you said I feel younger, it is because in your mind you are, and you should stay that way.
“An individual’s perceived age may influence how they overcome illness and cope with symptoms; for example, a positive view on life is linked to positive health outcomes”. Read the complete paper here
Figure 1.The mind-body connection. Biological age and subjective age are connected with a variety of diseases and may be directly linked.
The Longevity Divide
When I say there is so much content out there, I have to admit that it is also amazing that the internet is proving us with so many opportunities to access it. By following someone I discovered from one of my favorite online optimists, and a future guest Mehdi Yacoubi, I got lucky and stumbled into a conference with incredible speakers, including AgeWave’s Ken Dychtwald. A pioneer on changing the aging experience and an incredible communicator, I was happy to see that his take of longevity is the same we speak of at MYKIGAI; living longer with health-span. The other camp is concerned with living to 150, or forever. I have to be honest, I am also fascinated by this, and I do believe it will happen, but this longevity does feel very much for the 1%. I do know people that can buy 65k rejuvenation treatments - trip costs not included - but this is not in the cards for everyone. Even in terms of where the trials and tech are at, and making it a lifestyle, there is quite a chasm to cross. For the meantime we focus on longevity for the 99%; what realistic measures can one take today, to live healthy for as long as possible. That’s that MYKIGAI is here for - preventative wellness.
Speaking of what you can do today for body and mind for a healthier tomorrow, please find below some of our exiting program starting next week.
EXPERT GUESTS
Drew Taylor, founder of Acorn Biolabs: How to access the potential of future cell therapies with a simple procedure today.
Tommy Ton, creative director of Deveaux New York: From being the biggest street style photographer in the world, to designing ageless style.
COMMUNITY EXPERIENCES
Weekly Mindscape: Monday mental break.
Co-Design for our new Longevity : Roundtable with Lee St James the founder of Social Robots.
Zoomroom : An audio chat room with special surprise guests.
And many more!
Did you know that 1 in 7 Alzheimer's cases could be prevented with more exercise?
Anyone who wants to learn more join MYKIGAI or feel free to say hi. I love discussing these subjects and what I have learned. More importantly, I love to learn.
Laura from MYKIGAI
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