“人老心不老”是young at heart，thinking and behaving as if you are younger than you really are，行为思想比实际年龄年轻，就是young at heart；例如︰My uncle is 90 but he’s still young at heart.
根据研究，原来young at heart真有延年益寿的功效。新闻报道的标题”People who feel younger at heart live longer”(〈心境青春活得长〉)，清晰直接点出心境和寿命的关系︰
Everyone dies, but a new study says feeling sprightly might suggest a person has more time left than people who feel their age or older. Older people in the UK who felt at least three years younger than their chronological age were less likely to die over the next eight years than those who felt equal to or older than their actual age, researchers found.
Sprightly解lively、full of energy，精神矍铄的、轻快的。这个字多用来形容老人家，例如︰My aunt was quite sprightly for her age.
Chronological解按时间的、按年代序的。 Chronological age是实际的年龄。六千多个研究对象中，八年后，觉得自己比实际年龄年轻的、心态与实际年纪一样，及自觉比实际年岁老的人，死亡率分别是14%、19%和25%。
性格决定命运
科学家推想这是因为︰”People who feel older are less likely to go out and about, are lonelier, are less mobile and are less physically active.”心境衰老的人把自己困在家中，较孤寂、不活跃。研究进一步证明，”perceptions(感觉、看法) of aging can have real consequences(后果) for the health of older individuals”。
有份参与研究的一位学者说：The findings show the need for society, which often influences these perceptions, to concentrate(专注) its efforts on enabling older individuals to view the process of growing old in a more positive(正面的) light.
另外，有研究亦发现︰”personality(性格) can so be tied to your destiny”，这就是性格决定命运。
New research into the link between personality and aging finds that there are two main traits that seem to help people live a longer life: conscientiousness(按良心办事、认真，责任心) and optimism(乐观).
智者有这样的观察：”People don’t grow old. When they stop growing, they become old.”(人不会老。只是有一天他们不再成长，那就真会变老。)Young at heart不只是关乎老年人，人长大后亦应努力保持心境青春。
常说岁月催人，但Deepak Chopra在Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old就说这只是心态问题：
Age is reversible(可逆转的). Biological age does not correspond to chronological age. You can be chronologically twenty years old, but if you’re emotionally and physically burnt out(精疲力尽), your biology will be that of an old person. Or you can be 70 years old and be physically, emotionally and spiritually fit and your biology reflects the stamina(耐力), the vitality(活力), the creativity, the alertness, and the dynamism(活力) of youth.
他在书中教了很多令青春常驻的心法：”Be natural; relinquish the need to hide constantly behind a social mask.”(活得真实；不再时刻以假面目示人。)”Be defenseless, relinquishing the need to defend your point of view.”(放下戒心，不再老说我对你错。)
