New book argues aging is not fixed — introduces “flicker stage” and a more fluid model of growing older
In Your Aging Advantage, Stuart Kaplan and Marcus Riley introduce the “flicker stage,” arguing aging is fluid rather than fixed. They say lifestyle, mindset and social shifts can temporarily lower one’s functional “feels-like” age, offering renewed vitality.
- Authors present aging as a seven-stage, fluid process, highlighting a temporary “flicker stage” where functional age can drop.
- “Flicker triggers” — physical, psychological, social or environmental — may reset a person’s felt age.
- Concept complements but differs from lab-based biological age reversal, which targets cellular markers via epigenetic methods.
- Local implications could reshape programs and markets for wellness, workforce planning and community engagement in places like San Luis Obispo.
What is the “flicker stage”?
Kaplan and Riley reject the idea that aging is a steady, inevitable slide. Instead, they describe stages that shift with life events and choices. The “flicker stage” is when a person’s feels-like age — their lived, functional age — temporarily drops.
Examples include someone feeling years younger after a new exercise routine, rekindled purpose, or a change of scene, then later returning to feeling closer to their chronological age. The authors emphasize that such moves are often reversible and can be intentionally influenced.
“Healthier aging involves ‘flickering back’ to a younger state,” the authors say, encouraging readers to identify triggers that can “flip” them toward greater vitality.
See the authors’ on-air summary in the Fox News interview for a concise overview.
Flicker triggers and simple interventions
Kaplan and Riley group flicker triggers into four categories and suggest low-risk, practical steps to test the idea:
- Physical: increased activity, new exercise programs or recovery that restores mobility.
- Psychological: mindset shifts, renewed purpose or revised daily goals that change motivation.
- Social: deeper friendships, new relationships or community ties that boost engagement.
- Environmental: moving house, modifying home spaces or changing daily routines to alter inputs and energy.
Kaplan uses a weather metaphor: birth-certificate age is like a thermometer, while lived age is a “feels-like” temperature affected by humidity — many people already experience a mismatch between the two.
Broader framework: seven stages and “aging on pace”
The flicker stage is described as one of seven stages in the book, though public reporting has not published the full stage list or detailed chapter material. The authors advocate changing the language from “aging in place” to “aging on pace”, focusing on desired daily life — working, traveling, learning or deepening hobbies — rather than a fixed decline tied to a number.
Riley criticizes treating age 65 as a universal biological turning point, calling it more of a social retirement benchmark. The book urges people to define their own pace and use flicker triggers to pursue it.
How this idea fits with scientific research
Kaplan and Riley’s framework is primarily behavioral and experiential — focused on subjective and functional age. It intersects conceptually with laboratory research that aims to measure and sometimes reverse biological age, but they operate on different levels.
For example, coverage of a Life Biosciences human trial on partial epigenetic reprogramming (an approach intended to reset cellular age markers safely) is available via NAD / Life Biosciences coverage. Reporting on related comments from scientists connected to David Sinclair and age-reversal research is summarized by the World Government Summit.
Experts caution that behavioral flickers — changes in how someone feels and functions — differ from cellular reprogramming, which targets measurable biomarkers. Both strands, however, highlight that age may be more malleable than previously assumed.
Implications for San Luis Obispo, California
Economic: Local fitness centers, physical therapists and wellness businesses could develop programs marketed to “reverse functional age” via targeted interventions, potentially increasing demand for classes, retreats and services.
Political: Policymakers may rethink programs for older adults, shifting from assumptions of inevitable decline toward policies that support continued work, volunteering and learning consistent with “aging on pace.”
Social and cultural: Community groups and senior centers could design initiatives that leverage social connection, outdoor activity and environment changes — all named by the authors as flicker triggers — to boost engagement and mental health.
Practical steps for residents: Try joining a new exercise group, volunteering, taking classes at Cal Poly or Cuesta College, or redesigning daily routines to increase movement and social contact. Health providers might ask about patients’ “feels-like” age during wellness visits to tailor interventions.
Reporting notes and local next steps
Most public coverage of Your Aging Advantage comes from a video interview; chapter excerpts, detailed evidence and independent verification of the seven-stage framework are not widely available. Readers are encouraged to consult the full book and seek peer-reviewed studies that test long-term outcomes.
Local journalists, health departments and community groups in San Luis Obispo could follow up by:
- Interviewing the authors directly.
- Reviewing the full book and its cited research.
- Tracking pilot programs that apply flicker-trigger interventions and measuring functional-age outcomes in practice.
