Age vs Old

When I was a child, I thought that everyone who was over 60 was old. My memories are of seeing most senior women with grey hair, and many senior men with no hair. I also clearly remember that seniors generally walked and talked more slowly. Today, most women that age color their hair, and some elders can walk even faster than teenagers. Aging has changed significantly over the years, and we age very differently today, then we did historically.

In the 1920’s, 65 was considered very old and 55 was considered old. Today, 80 is considered very old, 70 is considered old, and 55 is considered middle age. Demographers tell us that longevity will keep lengthening in the decades to come. In 1950, the life expectancy age in Canada was 68.29. In 2021, the life expectancy age in Canada is 82.66. They are predicting the life expectancy in 2100 to be 91.82. The fact is, we are living longer and will continue to do so in the years to come. As such, our perception about age, and what is considered old, has changed throughout the decades. We also have many more societal advances that has helped us slow down our aging process, so we do believe that 60 is the new 40 or 50.

I vividly remember on December 31, 2009, when the Canadian federal government prohibited mandatory retirement at age 65. The reason I remember so clearly is because I worked in Human Resources, and the new federal regulations required that all employers update their work policies and benefits information, to reflect the elimination of mandatory retirement. I also distinctly remember that there were two different opinions on this new workplace legislation. There were employees who were pleased with the new mandate because they still felt vigorous and valued and wanted to continue to work without being forced to retire, just because of their age. But there were some managers who were not pleased with the new legislation, because they wanted to replace older employees with younger workers and could no longer use mandatory retirement as an accepted practice for terminating employees as soon as they turned 65. Employers who did not adhere to the new regulations, would now be deemed in violation of the Human Rights Code for discriminating against employees, on the basis of age.

There are many noticeable differences about aging now, from decades ago. Books written in previous decades, focused primarily on the pitfalls of growing older. They highlighted changes to our minds and bodies as a result of aging, such as memory loss and physical and mobility deterioration. Today, books such as “Rethinking Aging” and “Aging Without Growing Old” focus on helping us positively navigate our senior years. One of my favourite books, “I remember Nothing”, written by best-selling author Nora Ephron, with her trademark curiosity and sense of humour, tells us in her comical way that she cannot remember anything, but it is ok, because there are so many other benefits of aging. Best-selling author, Joan Lunden, shares in her book, “Why Did I Come into This Room” the realities of the science of aging. In her book, Joan replaces many myths about aging with factual information and everything that she has learned along her journey. In her own life, she remarried in her 50’s and then expanded her family, by having two separate sets of twins via surrogacy. She insists that “Your 60’s is just not over the hill anymore. It’s more like the top of the hill”.

When talking about the subject of aging, we often get asked what our real age is? Many of us describe our age by providing our chronological age. That is, the date that is on our birth certificates. Biological age is the term used to describe the age that we really feel. Our birth certificates may tell us that chronologically we are 60 years old, but biologically, we may only feel, say 40 years old.

There are many factors that affect our assessment of our biological age, such as diet and nutrition, exercise, stress, exposure to environmental and other toxins, and chronic conditions. If you want to reduce your biological age, there are steps that you can take to incorporate a healthy lifestyle into your daily life. A millennial who is sedentary, smokes, does not eat a healthy diet, and has excessive stress in her life may be biologically older than a senior who has never smoked, eats a healthy and balanced diet, exercises daily, meditates, prays, and does other activities to relieve stress, and has no chronic health conditions. Yet, the chronological age of the millennial is so much younger than the chronological age of the senior.

I find it very disappointing that many cultures, including ours, value beauty and youth over life experiences and wisdom. Aging women in North America are often dismissed. How many older women do we see in movies who have aged naturally and are depicted as living interesting, adventurous lives? I hope that we learn to value age, like other cultures and societies do from other parts of the world. Their philosophy is that with age, comes wisdom, and it is the wisest in those societies and cultures who are revered, as they should be.

“Golden Soul” from the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, was such a popular theme, that they added new titles to their collection, such as “Age is Just a Number”. Many longevity experts tell us that age is just a number and to not let our age tell us what we can and cannot do. I am fast approaching 60 years old, my third act as I affectionately like to call it, and I could not be more excited about this phase in my life. Most days, my biological age is much younger than my chronological age. Although I am a realist and must confess, that my short-term memory continues to fade, and I cannot physically do everything that I used to be able to do in my younger years. However, not only do I now have so many more life lessons and experiences behind me, but I also feel so much more confident and comfortable in my own skin.

One of the best things about aging and growing older for me, is caring more about who I really am, and not about how I look. As life expectancy increases, I now have more years of exciting new adventures to look forward to in my life. I also know that my lifestyle determines my biological age, or how old I really feel, and the chronological age that I may aspire to reach, which hopefully will be well into my golden years. Growing old is a privilege that not everyone gets to experience, and I feel very blessed to continue to age. What is your biological age or how old do you really feel?