May is Older Americans Month in the United States. This celebration is an excellent opportunity to show appreciation for the seniors in our lives. The theme for this year’s observance, led by the Administration for Community Living, is “Communities of Strength.” In the spirit of this year’s theme, we’re here to talk about a few stereotypes older people often encounter.

Older People Can’t Learn New Things

All too often, older people are subject to the expression “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” This is far from the truth. In fact, retirees and empty nesters may have more free time than some of their younger counterparts. This extra time is a great opportunity to pick up new skills or hobbies and explore interests.

According to a 2019 Oxford study, the key to learning new things is to stay curious and keep exploring what intrigues you. Learning multiple things at the same time is still possible – and doing this may increase cognitive functionality even more than learning one thing at a time. With the right resources and support, older people are just as capable of learning new tricks as a younger person.

Older People Shouldn’t Exercise

Because the risk of injury does increase as people get older, it’s easy to assume the best option for an older adult is to stop exercising altogether. Not true! The CDC recommends that older adults move more and sit less during the day. Older people are often still able to perform light to moderate exercise, especially aerobic workouts. Getting in a few hours of physical activity a week is a great way for older people to stay healthy and increase their energy.

Past a Certain Age, Older People Shouldn’t Drive

There is a stereotype that older men and women should not get behind the wheel because their eyesight is waning, they’ll fall asleep behind the wheel, or their driving skills are just getting rusty. While one’s reaction time, eyesight, and hearing can worsen with age, there is no age where it becomes inherently unsafe to drive.

Statistically, older people are safer drivers, use their seatbelts more than younger drivers, and have low rates of violations for speeding, driving under the influence, and reckless driving.

Older People Are All Grumpy

Movies, TV shows, and social media have perpetuated the myth of the grumpy old man.

But according to AARP, older people actually tend to be happier than younger people. They have more happy memories to look back on, many have families that bring them joy, and retirees are free from the stress of a 9-5 job.

Stereotypes and misconceptions exist all around us, but it’s up to each of us to challenge these beliefs in our own lives. This Older Americans Month, we encourage you to reflect on these stereotypes you may hold about older people, and to see how their strength, resilience, wisdom, and ability may surprise you.

Sources

https://acl.gov/oam/2021/older-americans-month-2021

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/think-youre-too-old-to-learn-new-tricks/

https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/older_adults/index.htm

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/documents/TGHS-27770_Caregiver_booklet_5.pdf

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2018/grumpy-old-men-myths.html