A new study has examined how old people feel, look, behave and think on a day-to-day basis - revealing that subjective age is more dynamic and multidimensional than previously understood.
Subjective age - how old a person feels compared to their chronological age - has been linked to physical health, mental wellbeing and cognitive outcomes. However, most research relies on a single-item Felt Age question: “How old do you feel?”. This study moved beyond this approach, examining six dimensions: Felt, Look, Behave, Mental, Interest and Ideal age.
The research followed 209 Australian adults aged 19 to 84 years, who completed two 7-day diary bursts using a smartphone app. Participants reported their daily stress, positive and negative mood, and subjective age across the six dimensions.
The findings showed that daily experiences matter. On days when participants reported higher positive affect, they tended to feel younger across most dimensions. Conversely, higher stress and negative affect were associated with feeling older - particularly in Felt, Mental and Interest age. Stable beliefs about ageing also played a role, especially for Ideal age, which appeared to reflect broader attitudes about ageing rather than daily fluctuations.
“Our findings highlight that subjective age is not a fixed trait as it shifts with daily experiences and emotional states,” says Institute member and lead author Shally Zhou. “Understanding these day-to-day fluctuations across different dimensions of subjective age can help us better understand how people experience ageing and identify opportunities to support wellbeing across adulthood.”
“This study reinforces the value of moving beyond single-item measures in research, recognising subjective age as a complex, context-sensitive aspect of the ageing process.”