"...It's hard, you will find, to be narrow of mind if you're young at heart. You can go to extremes with impossible schemes. You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams...."

Frank Sinatra divulged the secret to a long and happy life and not much has changed since Old Blue Eyes crooned on the radio. Youth is, to a certain extent, wasted on the young. That's because we don't appreciate the simplicity of what we have until after it's gone.

We live in an age-obsessed society. Most of us feel younger than we truly are – and with good reason. Our life expectancy gets longer with every generation. Yet we feel bound by old social stereotypes to behave in certain ways. We have a very good chance of living to be 100, yet we fuss about being "old" from the time we turn 30.

Let's get real! While it's important to accept adult responsibility, it's equally important to stay somewhat connected to the child within us.

Goofing off is not as childish as it looks. It's actually a very healthy thing to do. Have you laughed until you cried with one of your best friends lately? Did you know that twenty seconds of laughter could give your heart the same workout as three minutes of hard rowing? It's true! But we don't mean polite chuckling, we're talking about that stomach ache kind of laughter you get when your best friends are reliving some bonehead move you did way back in high school.

It's good to laugh – and to be silly and carefree – no matter what your age. Laughter exercises the cardiovascular system by raising and lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Laughing improves brain function and enhances memory. It lifts depression, reduces stress and provides a myriad of other benefits.

Ask yourself this: If you had no idea how old you were, then how old would you say? If you feel compelled to "act your age" perhaps that's the number to focus on. That's your "real" age. Now allow yourself to start having some real fun...

"...And if you should survive 'til 105 Look at all you'll derive from just being alive..."

Sources: WebMD.com, "Young at Heart," Capital Records, J. Richards-C. Leigh, popularized by Frank Sinatra, 1953.