Successful aging is a psychological feat. Fear for __1__
; Y0 v5 X: ^4 c% V# K death, for example, may sometimes oppress you.
+ u& p9 f9 E4 h% u; D u% \1 a even when this is successfully overcome, there is still2 a/ [2 ]9 M& @
something for you to deal with-loneliness. Loneliness7 `* @9 t& N! l" l" m
can speed your demise no matter conscientiously __2__( [. p% `4 L- c& ~ t; U8 U
you care for your body. “We go through life surrounded
1 n2 Z! P/ Z% k. N" `# Z! o by protective convoys of others,” says Robert
$ j$ b9 i% E. P+ N# P Kahn, a psychologist of the University of Michigan M3 i9 [" v$ H! K" R$ k: V
who studied the health effects of companionship. “People __3__$ e/ _7 [% A& U- @# c( r/ d1 f
who manage to maintain a network of social support do
; \9 u; [1 U& R6 i" c- L& E! i( a: Z best.” One study of elderly heart-attack patients9 }6 A+ V) d2 e# j; D
found that those with two or more close associations __4__
; J1 g. }. [. j6 K enjoyed twice the one-year survival rate of those who! p4 a* T* g, z' I. L
were completely alone.4 i3 i. u" j! |+ H5 v- ~) M9 K
Companionship aside, healthy oldsters seem to5 m( X2 |( Z& k# ~! z' h/ @# g
share a knack for managing stress, poison that contributes __5__1 F( s& y4 \' {! v* O5 E3 a
measurably to heart disease, cancer and accidents.
) z: C& X4 S- e2 V+ Q Researchers have also been kinked successful aging __6__6 p1 A' _- Q# d* V2 {4 u
to mental stimulation. An idle brain will deteriorate
% z% M% c& A |; u+ | just as sure as an unused leg, notes Dr. Gene Cohen, __7__2 P2 {6 Q. }: _" ^) P9 w2 U! f
Head of the gerontology center at George Washington
# L6 W1 Y" A% h# `) c( ?6 { University. But just as exercise can prevent muscle __8__
8 E, Q/ f$ M8 E# u+ F atrophy, mental challenges seem to preserve both# P3 u0 E( q& c7 ~7 i
the mind and the immune system. But what most
7 O6 L# ?( }& A- p5 o, H impresses researchers who study the oldest old is
) ?6 k A& S. z5 o: Y5 B his simple drive and resilience. “People who reach 100 __9__0 X: M6 Q$ Z. N: q: k2 y7 U4 T
are not quitters,” says Adler of the National Centenarian
! X* W; K: S2 c1 j" c- v7 x Awareness Project. “They share a remarkable ability to$ @" {5 A8 ^( {/ ^: f. S
renegotiate life in every turn, to accept the inevitable losses __10__
) v! S5 P* R9 N/ w" h; E And move on.” |