Did you know that your biological age can be younger – or older
– than your real age, depending on your mindset?

In this week’s, ‘Better You, Backed by Science’, I’m sharing one of my favourite studies – a powerful mind-body experiment that showed how we might reverse biological ageing.

It’s called the Counterclockwise Study, and it was led by Ellen Langer, a trailblazer in mind-body science and the first female tenured professor of psychology at Harvard.

So what was it all about?

The Counterclockwise study

In 1979, Langer invited a group of men in their 70s to spend a week at a retreat designed to resemble life 20 years earlier – 1959.

But they weren’t just reminiscing – they were asked to be who they were back then.

Langer’s hypothesis was:

“If we put the mind back 20 years, would the body reflect this change?“

Before arrival, they wrote brief autobiographies as if it was 1959. They dressed in 1950s clothing.

When the bus picked them up, they carried their own luggage – something they hadn’t done in years. (Langer told them if it was too heavy, they could unpack and carry items in trips. She wasn’t very popular on day one!!)

The retreat house was kitted out with period décor – black and white TV, 1959 newspapers, magazines, radios, and books.

Importantly, they were to speak about their lives in the present tense as if it was 1959: their grown-up children were back in university; their aches and pains weren’t yet assumed. They were to immerse themselves fully in the pretence that it was 1959.

They met every day to discuss “current events,” like the launch ‘last year’ (1958) of first US satellite, Explorer 1, the need for bomb shelters, and Castro’s advance into Havana. There was a even a recap of the Baltimore Colts’ winning against the New York Giants, 31-16, to win the NFL Championship game.

They watched shows like Sgt. Bilko, laughed at Jack Benny and discussed “recent” movies like Goldfinger – all as if these were current, like it really was 1959.

At meals, they helped with prep and clean-up, something some of them hadn’t done in years. They also partook in physical activities. At first, they stuck to bland food and limited movement due to assumed age-related limitations. But gradually, they began eating more adventurously and doing more physical activity than they thought they could.

The Results

Before and after the week, participants were tested on a range of markers: eyesight, hearing, grip strength, memory, joint flexibility, even finger length (due to arthritis improvement), and more.

The outcome?

On every measure, they showed improvement – and their biological age had reduced.

• Some needed new glasses – their vision had improved
• Hearing improved
• Grip strength and flexibility increased
• Taste and smell sharpened
• Finger length increased (on account of diminishing arthritis)
• Cognition and memory improved
• Gait and posture improved
• Height increased (on account of being able to stand straighter)
• Even independent judges, who knew nothing of the experiment, looked at “before and after” photos rated the participants as looking an average of two years younger at the end.

Two years younger – after just one week!

It was a stunning finding. And perhaps because it was so unexpected, it didn’t gain as much traction in mainstream science as it deserved.

But it’s a powerful demonstration of a simple truth. As Langer reported:

“It’s not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.”

Try this

Ask yourself:

• what if how I feel now is partly due to assumptions I’ve made about what someone my age is supposed to feel like?

(If you’re a younger person reading this, feel free to share with an older family member or friend.)

And if it might be true, what small thing could you do this week to challenge that assumption?

Could you:

• Wear something younger-feeling?
• Change your hairstyle
• Take up a new activity you think is for “younger people”?
• Or plan a fun “throwback” day with friends where you live like it’s 20 years ago?

Small mindset shifts like these could have real ripple effects.

Want to go deeper?

Watch my short YouTube video where I explore the Counterclockwise study and the science behind it, plus find out what houseplants, mindset, and anti-ageing have in common.

Reference (if you’d like to explore the research):
Ellen Langer’s brilliant book: Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility.

Note: On why the study didn’t include women

The Counterclockwise study, conducted by Ellen Langer in 1979, involved a group of older men, but not women. This was actually quite typical for psychological and medical studies of the time, where male participants were often chosen to control for hormonal variability and were sometimes seen (unfortunately) as the “default” test subjects. Thankfully, research practices have evolved significantly since then.

But does that mean the results wouldn’t apply to women?

Not at all. In fact, Langer has long maintained that the core findings – i.e., the power of mindset in influencing physical health – are universal. There’s no reason to believe that the benefits of a younger mindset would be exclusive to men.

Since then, other studies on mindset and ageing have included women and shown similar results: improvements in cognition, mobility, and even biological markers when people adopt a more empowered, engaged view of themselves as they age.

The takeaway remains powerful for all of us:

Our mindset about age can shape how we age … regardless of gender.