Keys to Longevity (And how SoWal Contributes to Aging Well)
Paula said:
Yup, the things you mention do contribute to longevity. According to Thomas Perls MD who is in charge of the New England Centennarian studies, most of us are genetically programmed to live to about 85 if we take care of ourselves (of course, there are exceptions -- diseases and events we can't control -- but barring these, 85 is a reasonable goal). The centennarians tend to share certain characteristics: they eat well and they typically eat fewer calories (although there's some new research that suggests that people who are slightly overweight but not obese tend to bounce back from illness better than people who are thin); they stay physically active; they have supportive relationships; they cope with stress very well (they don't necessarily have fewer stressful life events than others -- many centennarians have lived long enough to experience some terrible life events, but they cope with them better -- they face their problems, grieve, forgive others, make adjustments, move on and don't dwell on the past and they have ways of making sense of life's events that make them feel better rather than worse); they stay intellectually engaged; they go to the doctor regulary and take care of their health (they do tend to get vaccinations and they floss their teeth -- apparently good flossing is one way of preventing heart disease - strange but true); and they are optimistic about life and aging.
As for faith, I don't know if the studies suggest it contributes to longevity (I don't think this was found in the centennarian studies), but the research on happiness consistently shows that faith contributes to happiness -- although the researchers can't pinpoint why (it may have to do with faith giving people a way to make sense out of life in a way that is supportive and calming). Another interesting finding of the happiness research is that people who "satisfice" (don't always look for the "best" decision but rather are satisfied with the decisions they make -- interesting insight for SoWal given all the speculation about housing, housing values, property, etc.) are happier than people who "maximize" (always look for the best decision, but that's a set up for unhappiness because there's always going to be a "better" choice no matter what you choose). As for money, once you're over the poverty level, it doesn't predict happiness. If you don't have money to feed your family, get health care, etc., of course money would make you happier.
Interesting stuff...
I thought I'd start a new thread on this since it was under the "cancer and environment" thread and I thought it deserved some attention of its own. There's an excellent review of the recent studies on longevity in today's (June 20) Wall Street Journal personal section (it's worth reading). Much of the article focuses on stress and coping since that seems to be one of the most important predictors of longevity. Other highlights from the article:
1. "Genetics likely plays some part in the ability to reach an extreme old age...but genetics can only take you so far. Studies of Swedish twins who were raised apart showed that only about 30% of aging can be explained by genetics...'One of the myths of aging is to choose your parents wisely'...since only aout 1/3 of aging is heritable, the reste is acquired -- that mean you are responsible for your own old age."
2. "Increasingly, researchers are viewing stress -- how much stress we face in a lifetime, and how well we cope with it -- as one of the most significant factors for predicting how well we age." The explain why in the article.
3. "Marriage in particular protects men from the perils of aging. (Among women it doesn't seem to matter whether they are married or not, as lon gas thhey have other close relationships." (Why? No explanation given in the article.)
4. 63% of 80 - 102 year old men are still having sex; 30% of 80 - 102 year old women are still having sex." (Why? No explanation given in the article.)
5. "Successful agers typically feel in cobtrol of their day-to-day lives, but they don't fret about issues they can't control."
6. Work can make you sick if you don't have a feeling of control over your work and your time at work. "So, while work stress is inevitable, it's less harmful if you can control various aspects of your day -- such as when you take alunch break or the type of projects you want to work on."
7. "Personality traits such as optimism, adaptability and a willingness to try new things also seem to be linked to better aging." They then discuss the nun study that you can find at
www.nunstudy.com. The researchers studied a community of nuns to identify which were most prone to Alzheimer's diseas and other brain disease. "Among many notable findings has been a sudy of handwritten autobiographies from 180 nuns, who wrote them, on average at the age of 22. The writings were scored for emotional content and compared with survival rats from the age of 75 - 95. What researchrs noticed is that the nuns who wrote with the most positive attitude at a very young age were 2.5 times more likely to be alive in late life than the sisters who came across with a more negative point of view at a young age...Cosnistently, the nuns who age well are those with distinct personality traits such as a sense of humor and adaptability. Many of these nuns still developed illnesses and health problems associated with aging, but those who aged the most successfully were those who adapted to each new challenge, including illness or disability" I read the book about the nun study "Aging with Grace" by the researcher David Snowden. It is an excellent book. They also found that the nuns who has more positive emotions, as well as wrote with more complexity, in their autobiographies had a lower incidence of Alzheimer's, even if their brains showed the same physical damage as other nuns who had Alzheimer's. Snowden describes in one chapter how he has changed his health/life habits after participating in the study.
So, it would be interesting to consider how SoWal affects our aging. Worrying too much about a market bubble or the conditions of the beach probably isn't best for our health. Whether or not a new road should be put in should probably be considered in part in terms of whether it increases or decreases stress.
