A writer did everything from BASE jumping to scuba-diving with women over 50. She learned 3 things about healthy aging.

• Writer Caroline Paul went on outdoor adventures, such as scuba diving, with women over 50.
• She learned why outdoor activities are great for healthy aging.
• Adventuring in nature can ease stress, trigger awe, and challenge the mind and body. 

When you see people skateboarding, they are usually young and male. So, imagine the surprise of rangers at Yosemite National Park when they realized the person zooming toward them on an electric skateboard was a 61-year-old woman.

The skateboarder, Caroline Paul, was on her way to meet Shawn Brokemond, who was about to jump off El Capitan, a 3,000-foot high rock face in Yosemite. This BASE-jumping 54-year-old was among the 10 women aged between 54 and 93 who Paul met to research her book "Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking — How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age."

By doing everything from scuba diving with an octogenarian to walking on the wing of a plane with a 71-year-old, Paul saw that age needn't be a barrier to living fully. The women's hobbies were a source of vitality because they encompassed multiple different aspects of a healthy lifestyle: being active, being in nature, and often socializing with others.

Some of the women had been adventuring their whole lives, while it took others a little longer — but all of them were active, healthy, and happy.

The women "upended their own expectations of what they could do" and "changed their mindset about their own aging, and therefore they saved their own lives, in my opinion," Paul said.

At a time when aging is a buzzy topic and gyms are selling $40,000 longevity memberships, Paul's book provides an interesting contrast to the idea that we must spend in order to live long, healthy lives.

"No matter what your financial situation, you can get outside," she said.

"If you have an optimistic view of your own aging — if you see it as a time of exhilaration exploration — you actually are happier, healthier, and you live 7.5 years longer," Paul added, citing a 2002 study.

A more recent 2022 study found that people who had the most positive ideas about aging — meaning they rejected negative stereotypes about it, had a strong sense of purpose, and continued to socialize and learn — had a 43% lower risk of dying from any cause in the four years the study covered.

Paul shared three things she learned about healthy aging while researching her book.

Being in nature has a range of health benefits

Getting out of an urban setting and into nature can be really beneficial for the brain, Paul said: "On a physiological, biological, and emotional level, being outside is vital."

Research suggests that as little as a one-hour walk in nature can lessen stress, and a 2021 review of studies found links between being exposed to nature and improvements in cognitive function, brain activity, blood pressure, mental health, physical activity, and sleep.

"You don't have to wing walk, you don't have to scuba dive. You simply find an activity outdoors that activates your own exploration and physical vitality, and you're on an adventure," she said.

The uncertainty of nature challenges the mind and body

"The beautiful thing about nature is how uncertain it is — the wind might kick up, a hill might get a little steeper — and all that is challenging your body. Not in a crazy way, it's just all these tiny uncertainties that are happening," Paul said.

Studies have also linked the challenge and newness of different environments to better cognitive function in older people.

In addition to nature's unpredictability, learning new skills when taking up a new sport or hobby is inherently novel.

Heidi Tissenbaum, molecular, cell, and cancer biology professor at the University of Massachusetts, previously told BI that learning new things makes new connections in our brains, which keeps them healthy for longer.

Feeling awe can ease stress

"Awe is the feeling you get in the presence of something bigger than you, something mysterious," Paul said. "Traditionally, it's something that we associate with religious experiences, but nature is a surefire awe trigger — looking at the night sky, a big tall sequoia, or the Grand Canyon, for example."

Research has linked experiencing awe on a daily basis to greater feelings of well-being, especially in times of stress. And one 2022 study suggested that people who did "awe walks" — 15-minute walks where they tried to feel awe — felt more joy and smiled more.

You can turn any walk into an "awe walk" by paying attention to your surroundings when visiting a new place, focusing on your senses, and zooming in on small details or out to the vastness of humanity, Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, told the New Yorker.