Americans strive to live a healthy life into old age. It’s what fuels the multibillion-dollar food industry and makes popular nutritional supplements fly off the shelves.
A vast majority of Americans – about 77 percent – hope to live to be 100 years old. But the truth is that the average American lives to be about 78.
The relatively small population that does are known as centenarians and their numbers are growing. In 2015, the world was home more than 450,000 centenariansmore than four times as many as in 1990.
This growth is expected to accelerate, with projections suggesting there will be 3.7 million centenarians worldwide by 2050.
Genetics play an important role in a person’s chances of making it to 100 or even above average. S. Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told DailyMail.com, “There is an upper limit to human lifespan…you can’t live a long life without winning the genetic lottery.”
But there are plenty of factors a person can apply to help them extend their lifespan and health – the number of healthy years they’ve lived. DailyMail.com spoke to aging experts about what the lives of healthy centenarians have in common.
Centenarians are part of a community
Aging experts specializing in the behavior of centenarians have focused on the so-called Blue Zones, areas of the world where people live the longest and consistently reach the age of 100.
They include the islands of Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Ikaria, Greece, as well as the city of Loma Linda in California and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.
The centenarians in these communities maintain strong interpersonal relationships, are close to their families, and feel they can trust their neighbors.
People with strong social connections tend to live longer and healthier lives. In fact, people with stronger social relationships had a 50 percent more likely of survival than those with weaker social relationships.
a Harvard study about 1,300 people followed for 80 years to determine how early life experiences affected a person’s longevity and health throughout their lives. Those who had closer, warmer relationships with others lived happier lives for longer. Close personal relationships had a greater influence on slowing mental and physical decline than wealth and status.
Sardinians are always close to family, while in Okinawa the term ‘moais’ is often used to refer to groups of five friends who have bonded together for life.
Dr. Dilip Jeste, a renowned neuropsychiatrist who studies aging at the University of California’s San Diego College of Medicine, told DailyMail.com, “Social connections have a greater impact on health and longevity than things like various diseases that we try to treat and control – hypertension, diabetes, smoking or obesity, etc.
‘Man is a social species. We can only survive if we have a sense of community and belonging.’
In a hyper-connected world dominated by social media, being connected may not seem like a big deal. But millions of Instagram followers or thousands of Facebook friends belie a real loneliness problem that is ubiquitous in the US. What people lack is real, intimate interpersonal connection.
Dr. Mary Gallant, interim dean of the University of Albany’s School of Public Health told DailyMail.com, “Social isolation and loneliness among older adults puts people at very high risk for a variety of negative mental and physical health outcomes. So engaging in social activities, whether with friends or family or others [is important.]’
They have a strong sense of purpose
A reason for being: Costa Ricans call it “plan de vida,” while Okinawans call it “ikigai.” In Sardinia, elders often take on the role of child caretaker.
People in the blue zones have all this in common. They live lives with intent and purpose.
Ikigai is believed to be such an effective tenant for healthy living that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has included it in its official health promotion strategy. a Study from 2008 of more than 43,000 Japanese found that not having ‘ikigai’ was linked to a 60 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Having purpose and meaning in one’s life has long been associated with longevity. People who believe their lives have meaning also have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol
In a 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers followed about 7,000 adults over the age of 50 and interviewed them using a questionnaire to rank their life purpose. The researchers assigned life goal scores based on the participants’ responses and followed them up five years later.
They concluded that participants with the lowest life goal scores were twice as likely to die than those with the highest scores.
Meanwhile, a 2016 meta-analysis of 10 different studies totaling more than 136,000 people shows that having a purpose in life can lower a person’s risk of dying from all causes by 17 percent.
Many people find purpose and meaning in their jobs, and retirement can put that at risk, says Dr. Jeste.
He said: ‘Retirement is actually a big factor for a lot of people, especially men. Because the job determines the goal in life and when you retire, or if you are forced to retire, the goal is just gone.’
“So they find other things to do, volunteer more, or maybe go back to doing some art they were into when they were young.”
Meaning and altruism go hand in hand in that sense. Service to others helps foster a sense of community in addition to the goal.
Dr. Carolyn Aldwin, director of the gerontology program at Oregon State University, told DailyMail.com:
“For example, if you look at who develops PTSD after natural disasters, people who have helped other people during natural disasters are less likely to develop PTSD because it is purposeful and meaningful and gives them a sense of control.
“You can’t save everyone. But if you’ve done your very best to get people out of the mess, it greatly helps your own satisfaction with such a situation.’
They are spiritual, not necessarily religious
In blue zones, centenarians participate in spiritual practices that experts say give a sense of grounding and belonging.
Spirituality is not synonymous with organized religion, warns Dr. Jeste. Spirituality can come in the form of communing with nature, or performing acts of altruism.
He said, “An atheist can still be spiritual in the sense that they believe there is something greater, something that we cannot see or hear or feel.”
Dr. Aldwin told DailyMail.com: “On an individual level, we have shown that patients with congestive heart failure who identify as high in spirituality live longer on average than those who do not.
“So it helps to have a healthy lifestyle, yes, it really helps to have a supportive community, but it also helps to be centered and grounded, and not be knocked off your feet by the stress that we all experience.’
Still, belonging to a church has been proven to create a strong sense of community, a proven factor in becoming hundreds of people.
A 2017 report of 5,449 middle-aged Americans (40 to 65) published in PLoS One found that, after adjusting for age, gender, race, and chronic medical conditions, churchgoers were 46 percent less likely to die in the 14-year follow-up period compared to non-churchgoers.
The community of Loma Linda is home to 21,000 people who are predominantly Seventh-day Adventist, a religion that mandates healthy lifestyles and service.
In 2009, researchers from Loma Linda and Austin, Texas found that the belief was turbocharger their healthy habits and emotional well-being. They engaged with members of their community and were physically active. It also helps that they abstain from alcohol.
Americans now live an average of 76.4 years, up from 78.8 years in 2019
They do stress management
Healthy centenarians typically maintain low stress levels thanks to a variety of practices, including having a strong support system and taking plenty of naps throughout the day.
It’s no secret that chronic stress causes gradual wear and tear on the body. Chronic stress has been shown to increase the risk of dementia, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure and even a weakened immune system.
One particularly helpful and age-defying practice is called proactive coping, a forward-looking strategy that involves setting yourself up for success by anticipating potential stressors and acting ahead of time to avoid them or mitigate their impact.
According to Dr Aldwin, this could mean putting money aside in advance in case the car needs an expensive repair or refueling for a long journey, to avoid running out of fuel on a country road in the middle of the night to sit.
The elderly are already good at proactively dealing with stress in order to reduce stress later on.
Dr. Aldwin said: ‘Stress management, being able to shake off little things, organizing a life structure that can reduce your exposure to stress, especially later in life, would really help.
“There was a study done many years ago of 80-year-olds in San Francisco, and they found that they did a lot of proactive things, like when they drove into town, they would map out routes to where they didn’t have to turn left, or if they’re going to travel, they go to the airport the day before to make sure they know what they’re doing and how to get there.’
Having a realistic perspective on life stressors and how people react is just as important.
Dr. Aldwin added: ‘It is very important not to make mountains out of molehills.
‘You better not worry about anything. Someone cuts you off in traffic, bad, right? Your flight is delayed half an hour because they need to fix something? It’s better for them to fix something than for the plane to crash.”