The older the better: Elderly people are more successful at warding off unhappiness than millennials, says new study
- A study has found that older people are better equipped to ward off unhappiness than those in their twenties
- 22 young adults, plus 20 people in their sixties and seventies, took part in it
- It found that that young people's brains were geared towards 'hyper-vigilance' against threats and that older people experience the opposite effect
A study has found that older people are better equipped to ward off unhappiness than millennials.
The study led by the Georgia Institute of Technology found the brains of young adults are geared towards 'hyper-vigilance' against threats and that older people experience the opposite effect.
It found older people's brains attempted to block out threats and this 'positivity effect' was enough to hinder bad memories being created.
The study has found that older people are better equipped to ward off unhappiness than those in their twenties
Speaking to The Times, Brittany Corbett, who led the research said: 'As we age, we try to have better overall wellbeing and protect our emotional health.'
'Older adults that focus more on negativity avoidance seemingly live happier lives, have better health and longevity. Older adults prioritise their emotional health to such an extent that thy proactively downregulate during the anticipation of, not just in reaction to, negative events.
Previously scientists have used eye tracking experiments which found that old people are better than 20 somethings at dealing with negative experiences.
The experiments found that they try to avoid nasty pictures.
Research also found older people are unable to recall undesirable events less intensely and with less detail. Ms Corbett's team has found that this effect starts to happen even before the event happens.
The team conducted the study with 22 young adults, averaging an age of 23 - plus 20 people in their sixties and seventies.
Participants were asked to lay in an MRI scanner where a recording of tyres screeching was played in order to indicate something bad was going to happen.
Alternatively a 'neutral cue' of a wind chime was also played to participants.
As part of the study, participants were shown pictures of disturbing things such as sharks
Following the clips, participants were shown a disturbing photograph, which either depicted disturbing scenes such as gory surgery, sharks and gunshot wounds.
The results of the study published on the bioRxiv website show that older people were worse at remembering unpleasant pictures and better at looking at neutral ones. The study found that younger people experienced the opposite affect.
Scans of the brain also found in the over 60s, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, involved in higher thought, appeared to be telling the amygdala - a brain region in negative emotion - to reduce its activity.
But in young adults, the amygdala became more excited.
Ms Corbett said the findings of the study, which have not been peer reviewed, make sense from an evolutionary perspective.
She said: 'As one's perceived time left in life grows shorter future-orientated goals such as information seeking grow grow less important.
Instead present-orientated goals such as living a happy life and having a good well being are prioritised.'
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