Longevity experts reveal ‘flicker method’ that could help you feel years younger

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The idea that aging is a steady, predictable process is being challenged by a new book, which describes a so-called “flicker stage” where someaspects of agingmay briefly reverse.

Stuart Kaplan and Marcus Riley,authors of the book“Your Aging Advantage,” say aging may be more fluid than chronological age alone would suggest.They call this phenomenon the “flicker stage,” just one of seven stages of aging.

The “flicker stage” suggests functional age isn’t fixed, with people shifting between levels of youth and vitality based on lifestyle and mindset, the authors state.

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Periods of feeling significantly younger, followed by times of feeling one’s age, may reflect what the authors describe as the “flicker stage.”

Riley saidhealthier aginginvolves “flickering back” to a younger state, noting that while stress or setbacks can make people feel older, those shifts aren’t permanent.

Two senior men perform push-ups outdoors near riverfront.

The secret to aging healthier is learning how to “flicker back” to a younger state when life pushes you forward, the authors said.(Milan Markovic/iStock)

“Through positive interventions, we have the ability to flicker back to the stage of age we want to be in … these setbacks or unforeseen circumstances might propel us to a different stage of aging, but we have this ability to flip it back throughpositive intervention.”

“Aging or growing older is [not] a problem to fix… it’s an opportunity to be seized.”

Riley said this requires identifying personal “flicker triggers” — physical, psychological, social or environmental shifts that help reset one’s pace, such as exercise or renewed social connection.

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Most people already live with a “feels-like” age that doesn’t match their chronological age, said Kaplan, comparing it to aweather report.

“In the summertime, the weatherperson might say it’s 85 degrees outside, but with the humidity, it feels like 95… The feels-like age is the lived age, as compared to the chronological age or the age on your birth certificate.”

A group of elderly friends sitting in a circle playing guitars and singing at home

The authors suggest that engaging in your community is one way to activate the flicker stage.(iStock)

Focusing on the “lived age” may allow people to intentionally shift into a younger stage, according to the authors.

Instead of “aging in place,” which focuses on where one lives, they suggest focusing on “aging on pace.”

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“It’s more about what’s important to us on a personal level… do we want to stay in employment and work for as long as we can?Do we want to be shifting gears… and pursuing other interests and pastimes that are important to us?” Riley asked.

Kaplan said the common focus on age 65 as a point of decline reflects a socially imposed retirement benchmark, not abiological marker.