longevity

Tips for Living a Longer Life
By BrianX | July 20th, 2006

Humankind has been trying to live for increasingly longer periods of time since the early struggles for survival thousands of years ago. On a primal level, we try to live longer on a daily basis by simply avoiding direct harm. Obviously living longer entails more than that. Once our basic needs of shelter, safety food, love and belonging are met, there is the constant push to the next level: The extension of our life spans. Is there something we can do to live longer? Will our genetic make-up kills us off before our time?

Centenarians Live Longer Lives

In the year 1900, the life expectancy was 47.3 years meaning that the average person was expected to die at quite an early age by today’s standards. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2002 that number had risen to 77.3 years.

People who live to be 100 and beyond are called centenarians. The number of centenarians is increasing yearly and there is currently 1 centenarian for every 10,000 people in industrialized countries.

Do Women or Men Live Longer?

While it is well-documented that women live a few years longer than men (on average), medical science has yet to find distinct reasons behind this trend. The mixed and plentiful ideas are beyond the scope of this article. However, it is worth noting that the average age of dying for men is catching up to that of women’s.

If we eliminated the major diseases that are killing us “before our time” such as cancer, our life spans would only increase by about 10 years. That just doesn’t seem like a lot. Don’t get me wrong, there are serious diseases out there and just looking at the age of death ignores the suffering of those dying off. However, the point is that living for an extra decade or so isn’t such a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

The Pitfalls of Living Longer

It’s peculiar that we are so caught up in trying to live longer that we don’t take into account what we would or wouldn’t have to look forward to. Personally, I’d love to see what happens with the space program and I’m sure everyone reading this article has their ideas of what they would want to experience in their own extended lifespan.

Perhaps living longer lives is not that great an option. For one thing, the age of retirement would probably increase. If government pensions dry up, many people will be living in poverty that much longer. Also, just because you’re still alive at 95, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’d be fully healthy at that age. You would likely still need special care at least some of the time.

Tips for a Longer Life

There are currently a few centenarian studies going on around the world, all which are trying to find the secrets to successful aging. As more people are living longer lives, it’s becoming easier to study these unique individuals.

Two popular projects include the New England Centenarian Study and the Okinawa Centenarian Study in Japan. The studies have yielded some interesting findings. Remember that these are general findings and variations do exist.

People who live to be 100…

Tend to be healthier to begin with, meaning that as you get older, you aren’t getting sicker, you just keep on living with more of the same level of general health.
Come from a range of backgrounds. The number of years spent in school, how rich or poor they are, or what they eat (from fatty food-aholics to vegetarians) are not important factors.
Are lean and fit. Few overweight people live to be 100.
Don’t smoke.
Are good at handling stress. Centenarians may have gone through difficult times just like everyone else but they seem to be able to let go, adapt, and move on more easily.
Report being less tense and higher in self-confidence, as well having optimistic attitudes and an easy-going approach to life.
Have longevity in their genes meaning that family members are more likely to live longer as well.
Still have normal thinking abilities and do not suffer from degradation brought about by illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Of course, these results have tremendous implications. The obvious ones are the stopping smoking and losing weight could help increase your life but what about the indirect consequences? For example, would you go to a therapist to de-stress, knowing that it could help you live longer?

Why the Elderly are Ignored

Our species is dependent on procreation. On the whole, we grow up, have kids, get old and pass on, paving the way for the next generation to do the same. So when the idea of living decades beyond the time of raising children and work arises, what happens then?

While some cultures respect the oldest members of their society as being able to offer wisdom and support, many people growing up in first world countries, especially a “melting-pot” type of country such as the US, tend to leave the older generations out.

I’m sure there are many reasons but I’ll touch on what I think is one of the most significant. I believe that you must look at it from a technological perspective. Our lives are being overtaken by technology. That technology is rapidly expanding and branching off into new parts of our lives. The younger generations embrace the changes while older generations are slow to catch on. After all, only a younger generation can really keep abreast of the constant changes and even then it’s overwhelming.

The older people get, the less they can keep up and offer advice to the young. If this still isn’t clear, think of the opposite side. Many cultures living as tribes in isolated regions of the planet would be lost without the elder members to pass on tradition and guide them. Do you think your grandparents can teach you how to use a computer program or discuss the latest reality TV show?

While it seems that the faster the society, the less there is a need for the elderly, I’d say that as our society speeds up, the less there is a perceived need for them. As long as they are able to retain their faculties, they probably have a lot to offer by way of advice, story-telling, passing on family history, and what-not.

In The End

In the end, we are all going to die anyways, right?! Remember that for everything good, there is an equal and opposite bad thing. A longer life does not necessarily equate with a richer, more fulfilling one but fighting off the grim reaper that much longer does sound tempting, doesn’t it?

“Live long and prosper” says Spock. I think the Vulcans on Star Trek had the right idea. As a side note, isn’t it interesting that medical science and not religion is finding ways to live longer? But I digress.