Image by Bruce Mars on Unsplash.
“You have such a young energy.” That’s supposed to be a compliment.
Even Deepak Chopra titles a post, “6 secrets to maintain youthful energy.”
The idea is, you lose energy as you get older. And to a large extent, that’s true. People do lose muscle mass as they age and they’re more likely to develop medical problems.
When an older person visits a doctor, they often hear, “What do you expect at your age?” And that’s where the danger starts.
But fatigue among older adults isn’t normal. Researchers say tired adults usually have underlying conditions that cause tiredness. Fatigue is a side effect of many drugs, including many drugs taken for blood pressure. There’s good reason to be suspicious of prescription drugs.
But there can be different types of “old energy.” In the film Age of Champions you’ll see “older” people competing in sports. The basketball team has women in their sixties and seventies. They play hard.
Most of the athletes in that film are in better shape — and have more energy — than people half their age.
Actually, some women in their sixties, seventies, and eighties are athletic champions for their age group. Some women in their twenties and thirties are out-of-shape couch potatoes. Where’s the “youthful energy?”
Some people in their fifties and sixties can work all day and dance all night. Some can’t.
Rather than make references to “youthful energy,” I would like to see references to “high energy” or “athletic energy.”
