Polyglot 84.COUNTERCLOCK-WISE. (From the open internet). When psychiatrist Ellen Langer started this experiment in 1979,

Вторник, 29 Июня 2021 г. 22:32 + в цитатник

COUNTERCLOCK-WISE.
            (From the open internet).

         When psychiatrist Ellen Langer started this experiment in 1979, she already had a reputation for confirming bold theories with even bolder practice. Ellen practiced mainly with retirees.

         Three years earlier, she became the author of a truly revolutionary experiment for gerontology at the Arden House nursing home in Connecticut, proving that reverent care for the elderly is not at all as good as it is commonly thought, and will bring to the grave faster than any other disease. The experiment became part of the study of learned helplessness syndrome.

         But Mrs. Langer was not going to stop there. She was going to completely destroy the dull halo of old age and prove that we are young only as much as we think we are young.

         For a new experiment, Ellen selected eight men. The average age of the subjects is 75 years. All of them had to live for a week in a monastery converted for scientific and secular needs in the state of New Hampshire. The test subjects did not yet know what exactly awaited them. All they were asked to do was not to take with them books, magazines or photographs that appeared less than 20 years ago.

         When eight men entered the house in which they had to spend a week without getting out, they were stunned. It seems as if they were transported to the past. Specifically, in 1959. Black and white TV, old records, books on shelves, calendars - everything brought them back to the reality of twenty years ago.

         Further more: the participants in the experiment were asked to dress and behave as if it were really 1959. And they, accordingly, are not dusty 75 years old, but fervent 55.

         At first it seemed that this was impossible. How to erase the last 20 years from life? It quickly became clear that it was very easy. Without communication with the outside world, in which 1979 still reigned, men began to speak, live and even think as if they were in 1959.

         The staff treated them accordingly: no offers to help carry a heavy bag or rearrange a shelf. No reminders to take pills or go to the bathroom. All by yourself!

         Already a week of experiment has given amazing results. Most of the subjects improved posture, flexibility, muscle strength, vision (by 10%!) And memory. That is, all those parameters that age does not spare. In addition, it turned out that 63% of the participants had higher IQ test scores at the end of the experiment than at the beginning.

         The most interesting thing: the participants in the experiment also looked younger. Photos of them before and after the experiment were shown to random people. Those, having looked at the photographs, thought that in the pictures “after” the men look, on average, three years younger.

            That is, the experiment has proven that our well-being is directly dependent on our environment and the model that it imposes. If at 70 you call yourself a grandfather, complain about old age and ask everyone to take you across the road, you will feel like an old man.

            But if you take courage and ignore the society's request for grumpy pensioners, and until your death at 95, think that you are still 45, you have every chance to live not only a long, but also a healthy, active and happy life.

            In 2009, Ellen Langer wrote the bestseller Counter Clockwise from her experiments. You can find the English edition on the net. Don't know English? Nothing, learn. At your young age, this is a piece of cake.

            March 22, 2021.