60 is the New 40
I recently turned 55, and while it wasn’t a “milestone,” it did get me thinking about my longevity. If I’m planning to live to be 100, I need to start figuring out what I need to do over the next 45 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, the average lifespan was 31 years. Today, it’s almost triple that, thanks to many, mostly minor, life tweaks proven by science to have a real effect. From obvious things like quitting smoking, cutting out sugar, exercising daily, and eating healthier, to subtler things like getting enough sleep, drinking green tea, meditating, and keeping your mind active, there are literally hundreds of ways to live longer. Here are some areas in which I need improvement:
Cook meals at home. A 2012 study cited in Public Health Nutrition found that people who cook at home up to five times a week were 47% more likely to still be alive 10 years later than those who didn’t. How about if I just bring something home to eat and pretend it was cooked there?!
Eat less meat. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that vegetarians have a 12% lower risk of premature death than meat eaters. But what’s a fella to do when your favorite local barbeque joint is named The South’s Best in Southern Living?!
Turn off the TV. Bad news, fellow binge-watchers, according to research from The University of Queensland, every hour of TV you watch after age 25 cuts your lifespan by about 22 minutes. Research also found that people who didn’t watch TV at all lived nearly five years longer than people who watched for an average of six hours per day. Maybe it’s the commercials . . . so Netflix wouldn’t count. Yeah, I’m going with that.
Move on up! Jimmy Buffett sings about the changes in attitude that come with changes in latitude, but a 2011 University of Colorado School of Medicine study says that it’s altitude that makes the difference. They discovered that the 20 U.S. cities with the highest life expectancy had an average altitude of almost 6,000 feet above sea level. By lowering the risk of death from heart disease, it added between 1.2 and 3.6 years to a person’s life.
Go urban. Research shows that city-dwellers live longer and healthier than their more countrified kin, but I’m skeptical about this one because just thinking about city traffic raises my blood pressure!
Get hitched. A Duke University Medical Center study found that baby boomers who stayed married are less likely to die early than their single counterparts. I’m sure there must be a footnote in there somewhere that says “as long as you don’t make her mad.”
Become a parent. Having kids actually decreases your risk of conditions like cancer and heart disease, which also increases your longevity. With five boys, Drs. John and Missy Weaver might live forever!
Being a bachelor, I enjoy being able to eat out every meal, binge-watch my favorite programs, or just hang out at the beach. But If I want to live to be 100, I guess I need to marry a woman with kids who lives in Denver and is a vegetarian chef!
