How Being Spontaneous Can Make You Feel Younger

My nine-year-old skips, jumps, flails his arms, jumps some more, kicks, skip-jumps, stops by to punch me in the leg, and continues. He drifts through the house to the energetic pop rock of his favorite band, Imagine Dragons.

He’s mouthing the words, but his “dancing” takes no cues from the music’s rhythm. He prefers to romp spontaneously.

Many people enjoy life with some dashes of spontaneity, and this freedom is often associated with being young. Meanwhile, rigid thinking...