Studies suggest that feeling younger may actually help you live to be older. Now, new research points to a way to keep that youthful state of mind, at least for elderly adults: feel in control.

研究表明，年轻的心态或能延长寿命。而今，新研究明确指出了保持年轻态的方法，至少能让老年人感觉一切尽在掌控之中。

"On days when you felt more controlled for you - you tended to feel younger," says Jennifer Bellingtier, a postdoctoral psychology¹ researcher at Friedrich Schiller University in Germany, of her findings, which she presented her research at the recent annual American Psychological Association (APA) convention (and which have not been published in a scientific journal).

"越能控制自己，越会让你显得年轻，"德国弗里德里希席勒大学（Friedrich Schiller University）的博士后心理研究员珍妮弗·贝林蒂尔说道。近期，她在美国心理学会年度大会上向大家展示了她的研究结果（尚未在科学期刊上发表）。

Bellingtier's research involved surveying 116 adults, ages 60 to 90, and 106 adults, ages 18 to 36, every day for nine days. Each time, participants were asked how old they felt that day, and how in-control of their life and actions they felt that day.

贝林蒂尔的研究对象为116位60至90岁的成年人，106位18至36岁的成年人，研究持续开展9天。每一次，她都会问受试者今天感觉怎么样：有没有感觉变老了？觉得自己对生活的掌控度如何？对当天的行为有何感受？

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Past research has shown that it's common to experience fluctuations² in "subjective³ age," or how old you feel. That held true for the people in the study: both groups experienced changes in their subjective age from day to day. But in the older group, these fluctuations were correlated with feeling a sense of control, Bellingtier says. On days they felt more in control of their lives, people tended to feel younger. In the younger group of people, changes seemed to be tied to things like health and stress levels.

过去的研究表明：经历"主观年龄"或心态的波动是非常正常的事情。该项研究的受试者也是如此：每天，两组人员都会经历主观年龄的变化。但对于老年组而言，这种波动是与控制感相关的，贝林蒂尔说道。对生活的掌控感更好，他们就会觉得自己更年轻。对于年轻组而言，变化似乎与健康和压力水平相关。

The power of feeling in-control may be two-fold, Bellingtier says. A sense of agency may boost mental health and drive down subjective age, in turn motivating people to make healthy choices. "When you feel more controlled, you feel younger, and then you feel like you can accomplish more things," Bellingtier says. "You feel like your actions matter." This could motivate a person to get outside and exercise or to make better nutrition choices, she says.

感觉一切尽在掌控之中可能会带来双重影响。力量感会促进心理健康，拉低主观年龄，从而激励人们做出健康的选择。"对事态的掌控力越大，你就会越年轻，从而觉得自己可以做更多事情，"贝林蒂尔说道。"你开始觉得自己的行为很重要。"从而激励人们去户外锻炼，或做出更佳的营养选择，她说道。

Both environmental and internal changes could enhance an older person's sense of control, Bellingtier says. A nursing home, for example, could allow residents to select their own food options and mealtimes, rather than mandating⁴ a set menu and dinnertime.

贝林蒂尔表示，环境和内部变化都会增强老年人的控制感。比如，疗养院不会定好菜单和用餐时间，而是让老人自行选择食物和餐点。