Bob Stowell doesn't consider himself to be particularly optimistic, but when you ask the longtime Atlanta-area resident how he deals with adversity, he says he hasn't really had to face all that much difficulty in his life. It's a remarkable observation when you consider that Stowell is now into his ninth decade. But experts who study the mental and physical attributes of people who are living long and healthy lives say this glass-is-half-full sort of attitude is common.
"What we have learned from centenarians is that it is not so important how much stress a person has in their life, it is how they manage it that is important," explains Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study and a geriatrician at Boston Medical Center He observes that many centenarians have personalities that are conducive to managing stress well. "Instead of internalizing stuff that is stressful, they seem to be able to let it go," adds Perls.
In fact, precisely how people age, and how you can potentially intervene to slow the process down are topics of profound interest all over the world. In Atlanta, for example, more than 20 research projects are under way as part of Emory University's Predictive Health Initiative, a new model of healthcare established in 2005 that focuses on health maintenance rather than treatment of disease.
"There is a lot of work to do there because health has generally been defined by the medical profession as absence of disease," explains Ken Brigham, director of the Predictive Health Initiative. "And we have tools available now that ought to make that a totally inadequate definition. We ought to be able to define health in more positive terms."
In an effort to change this paradigm, Emory researchers are studying select groups of people to see if they can identify what is right rather than what is wrong with their health. "These are people, spanning the decades from age 20 to 70, who are selected because they are very healthy," says Brigham. "And then we are taking a lot of both biochemical measurements and measurements of cell functions, to try and define what is special about these people that allows them to remain healthy into older age."
While science has not yet been able to pinpoint why some people age more successfully than others, many ongoing studies suggest the process is influenced by more than just diet and exercise. Attitude, social networks and mental stimulation all seem to play a role. And people such as Stowell who have spent their lives stimulating their minds and their bodies may well have an advantage. However, it is also clear that many of the healthy behaviors that these individuals exhibit can be adopted by almost anyone.
Make social connections
For example, Judy Kiely, 79, doesn't get stressed very often, but when she does, meditation helps a lot. It's a strategy she has been using successfully for 25 years. "It's simple. You just sit down and make sure that you relax, and let your mind relax," she says. Kiely also finds that doing handiwork such as embroidery or knitting, or getting together with friends, helps to relieve stress as well.
In fact, friends seem to offer other positive benefits to healthy aging, too. Researchers have noted that individuals who live independently well into their 80s, 90s, and beyond tend to have many friends and acquaintances, and maintaining these relationships is important to them. "People who are in a social network live longer and are more satisfied with their lives," explains Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging, and author of Longevity Bible, the 8 Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Mind Sharp and Your Body Young (Hyperion). Even a simple 10-minute conversation with another person every day is enough to provide some benefit, according to some studies, adds Small.
RSS