Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they age

1. Mindset matters for aging well.

The messaging around aging for women is sadly very toxic. We are told we are on a rapid decline, and many women feel invisible. Yet research shows that the way we look at our own aging predicts how well we age. So if you have a negative view of aging, you have a statistically higher chance of a cardiac event or cognitive decline, and earlier in life too.

The exciting part is that the opposite is also true: If you think of aging as a time of exploration and exhilaration, you will be happier, healthier, and live seven years longer. There’s a lot of science behind that. For example, a 2022 study of 14,000 adults over 50 found that those who were the most positive about aging had a 43 percent lower risk of dying from any cause over the next four years than those who were the least positive about aging.

But these studies don’t tell us how to get that positive mindset, especially in the face of such negative messaging about our aging journey. However, I had a sense that I had the answer: outdoor adventure.

2. Outdoor adventure can change our mindset on aging.

I jumped in the ocean with the Wave Chasers, a group of women in their sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond (one member is 99 years old!) who boogie board together in San Diego. I wanted to understand why they chose to take up this sport—and what they get out of it.

Loraine Vaught told me that boogie boarding had changed her life. When I asked how, she pointed out to the big, cold Pacific Ocean; look at the nerve it took to step in, look at the bravery one needed to be tumbled by waves, look at the way each Wave Chaser helped one another, look at the fun they were having. What she was saying was that none of the Wave Chasers were doing what was expected of them at their age. They certainly did not see themselves as frail or cognitively impaired—or boring!