We still haven’t figured out the secrets to longevity: how do some people live over 100 years, while others become sick and disabled as they age. Right now in the US, you have a 1% chance of living to 100. Yet, as the research shows, there are pockets all over the world where your chances for longevity are greatly increased (Okinawa, Greece, Sardinia, Loma Linda).
If you’ve read The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, by Dan Buettner (2012), you’re already aware that some cultures and lifestyles promote longevity.
5 Lifestyle Habits for Longevity
In Okinawa, longevity studies have shown five factors that have contributed to the large number of centenarians in that region:
- A diet heavy on grains, fish, and vegetables and light on meat, eggs, and dairy products.
- Low-stress lifestyles, significantly less stressful than that of mainland inhabitants of Japan.
- A caring community, where older adults are not isolated and are taken better care of.
- High levels of activity, where locals work until an older age than the average age in other countries, and more emphasis on activities like walking and gardening to keep active.
- Spirituality, where a sense of purpose comes from involvement in spiritual matters and prayer eases the mind of stress and problems
In 2015, a Japanese man Hidekichi Miyazaki, a masters athlete, became the world’s oldest sprinter upon winning the 100m at the age of 105, earning a place in the Guinness World Record book.
Think about it: many of the longest living people don’t use cars but walk, eat what they grow, know their neighbors, work well beyond 65, 75, and 85 and complete chores without appliances. As elders, they are loved and valued for their wisdom and experience.
Compare that to Americans who focus on productivity, gadgets, consumerism, and who eat processed foods with high sugar.Then they go out and spend billions on health supplements, diet programs, and cosmetic surgeries. This year the US life expectancy leveled off at 78.69, according to the World Bank. Canadians’, however, has steadily increased to 82.3. Why such a difference? We Americans tend to think Canadians are similar to us, but they can expect to live four years longer than Americans.
How can healthy seniors increase their life expectancies? I won’t suggest moving to Canada, but those five factors in the list above are starting steps. As we wrote about in the War on Aging, seniors need more activities and sports, better diet, more social involvement, and a motivating purpose or raison d’etre.
When Rob and I were approaching 70 and 74, we wondered when we’d have to cut back on sports because of our aging joints. Still, we didn’t feel old. Instead, we continued to play another four years. Now at 74 and 78, we are altering our routines slightly to adjust for surgeries and some chronic pain, but we still play and exercise at least an hour and a half, some days two hours. We want to do this as long as we can, taking care not to abuse body parts that seemed to have aged more than we have.
I’m certain this vigorous exercise program is what has kept me alive and protected from cancer and other degenerative diseases for so long. It’s not my diet (which has too much sugar these days). It’s not my genes, as everyone of my immediate family has passed away in their 50s and 60s.
It’s far fetched to think we can retire to the island of Ikarus or Sardinia or Okinawa and immediately become another centenarian. Author Dan Buettner explains in The Blue Zones, “The older you get, the healthier you’ve been.” Age is a reflection of how you’ve lived.
So if you want to live to 90, 95, or 100, start working on those five longevity elements the world’s oldest people. For more tips on healthy aging and longevity, stay in tune by subscribing to Thrive as a Senior.
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