How to achieve a younger RealAge

Q: I’m worried about my mom, who is only 66. She seems like she’s becoming a grumpy old lady, pessimistic, uninterested in new ideas. What can I do to help her have a younger outlook on her life?

Jaycee M., Memphis, Tenn.

A: Just as you can have a RealAge that is older or younger than your chronological age, depending on your physical fitness and overall health, you can have a psychological RealAge that is older or younger than what is commonly associated with healthy mental and emotional norms for your age.

And just as an older RealAge is a sign that you are at risk for decreased longevity, premature physical challenges and chronic diseases, an older psychological Real

Age sets you up for diminished happiness, interest and interaction, which studies show also lead to poorer health and decreased longevity. Attitude, just like blood pressure, is a true marker of overall health.

First, if you think this is significant depression, help your mom find an in-person or online therapist to help her sort out her feelings. Therapy can boost the effectiveness of the self-help tools that can significantly lower her psychological RealAge — daily physical activity, community involvement, contacting friends, writing gratitude notes or keeping a gratitude journal, engaging in learning new things, helping others and upgrading nutrition by eliminating red and processed meats, added sugars and empty calories.

Your mom might like to take a new quiz that measures psychological age at https://app.young.ai/psychoage. It was developed using social and behavioral data from the Midlife in the United States study by researchers from California and China. But whatever it says, we can tell you that if she signs up for online classes, Zooms with her friends frequently, makes sure she is getting exercise and tries the healthful, super-tasty recipes from Dr. Mike’s “What to Eat When” cookbook, you’ll see her mood and ‘tude become younger, along with her health.