Age is a state of mind - Prof. Dr. Sven Voelpel in an interview

Prof. Dr. Sven Voelpel (author of "Decide for Yourself How Old You Are") in an interview. © Jacobs University Prof. Dr. Sven Voelpel, born in 1973, is a professor of business administration at Jacobs University Bremen and the founding president of the WISE Demography Network. His research focuses on demographic change, diversity, and leadership. As a leading age researcher, he advises governments and organizations such as Allianz, the Federal Employment Agency, Daimler, and Deutsche Bahn. In his new book "Decide for Yourself How Old You Are", he discusses what research knows about staying young and how we can influence whether we are old or just getting older. It is an open secret: demographic change has long since taken place, Germans are living longer, and at the same time, fewer children are being born. By 2050, probably every third person will be older than 65. What challenges does this pose for society? Sven Voelpel: When I started as a professor of business administration at Jacobs University in Bremen in 2004, there were 44.5 million people in Germany of working age. By 2040, when I am supposed to retire at the age of 67, there will only be 30 million. 14.5 million fewer potential workers! This not only presents us with financial challenges but also societal challenges. How can we make the productivity and experience of older people beneficial to society? A rethink is needed here because the equation "age = deficit" still dominates public discourse. And that is fatal: Negative age stereotypes in our minds, such as dementia, frailty, and dependency, significantly influence our actions. Studies have shown that older people exposed to negative terms about aging had their number of innovative ideas halved. Conversely, those with a positive attitude towards aging doubled the number of innovative ideas. A 400% performance difference! This so-called positive priming not only works in the workplace but also influences our thinking in all aspects of life. Generally, the view is that old people are less flexible, stodgy, more often sick, even senile - do these attributes not apply? Sven Voelpel: This depends, among other things, on one's self-image and attitude towards aging. Those who feel old are at risk of limiting themselves and adapting their reality to what they consider age-appropriate. This leads to doubts: "Can I still do this?" - "No, probably not." Therefore, it is good to feel young. Feeling young is active and, as a long-term study found, can extend our lives by over seven years. Here, the phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play: People who are convinced of their memory functioning better unconsciously memorize things, eliminate unnecessary distractions, and thus remain more productive. So, age is a matter of mindset and attitude - the saying "you are only as old as you feel" is also true from a scientific standpoint. Additionally, improved medical care generally delays aging: today's 60-year-olds are much younger than those 100 years ago. You propose that we can be different ages in different areas and that age has different facets. What are they? Sven Voelpel: At a 60th birthday party today, you may encounter a hostess who could easily pass for someone in their mid-40s, but also peers who appear like they are 80 in their beige poplin. Many can relate to experiences like these. Such experiences show that there is no longer "one age" as a uniform, quantifiable final stage of life that unfolds the same way for everyone. It consists of a variety of facets - chronological, biological, perceived, and social age. These aspects do not have to align. In the "Ey Alter" exhibition at Universum Bremen, conceived in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, visitors can test this on themselves. For example, a 70-year-old in reality may feel like 20 because they are newly in love and have the endurance of a 50-year-old due to regular exercise. This is not about individual "model seniors" but an ever-growing group of older people. What can one do to stay young or age happily? Sven Voelpel: How long we live and how young we stay is determined by our lifestyle and attitude towards life: Am I interested in my environment, culture, sports, politics? Do I have good social relationships? Do I take care of my body and nutrition? Am I curious, open to the unknown? These are just some of the criteria. I would like to return to the effect of the self-fulfilling prophecy, which is equivalent to the placebo effect known in medicine. Belief in one's own ability, also known as self-efficacy, can boost a person's actual productivity by 30 to 40%! The same applies to fitness and mental well-being, which improve with positive thoughts. It is also important not to abruptly shut down one's engine - whether in leisure or work - at a certain age because it is "expected at that age," but to keep it running. In a study, researchers measured blood flow in the gray matter of the brain in working professionals, physically active individuals, and less active retirees. The result: mental performance declined year by year in the "true" retirees, while the other two groups remained mentally agile.