Longevity - the science of healthy ageing
What would it be like to remain mentally sharp and physically fit beyond the age of 100? And what is our body capable of when we take optimal care of it? The fascination with long life has captivated us for centuries. The term longevity, for instance, is derived from the Latin word longaevitās. In ancient Rome, clever minds combined the words longus (long) and vita (life). In this blog, we delve into what it is and provide tips on how you can improve your longevity. Shall we read on?
Today, longevity is seen as the science of (healthy) ageing. It is a branch within science that focuses on how we can live longer and healthier lives. The main goal is not just to blow out more candles, but also to ensure we remain fit, active, and healthy enough to do the things we love. Even in older age.
Where previously the focus was solely on how we could extend our lifespan, the focus is now primarily on how we can live our years as healthily and vitally as possible (healthspan). Healthspan goes beyond merely our lifespan, it emphasises staying healthy.
Life expectancy now vs. then
Compared to a century ago, we live much longer today. If you are born now in the Netherlands, the average life expectancy is 81 years. Whereas our great-grandparents born around 1900 had an average life expectancy of just 44 years. Today, we live almost twice as long on average! This quantum leap in years is mainly due to improvements in medicine, technology, healthcare, living conditions, and nutrition.
However, the rapid developments in medicine and technology have also led us to focus too much on life extension and new ways of healing. This has resulted in issues like prevention and maintaining health receiving (too) little attention. We may be living longer, but we are not necessarily ageing healthily.
Healthspan vs. lifespan
The term "healthspan" refers to the years in which we have both good health and a high quality of life. Additionally, we know the term “lifespan” which indicates our average life duration. Healthspan goes beyond just how old we get. It emphasises staying healthy.
And although our lifespan has been increasing for years – in the last 100 years, our life expectancy has doubled — our healthspan is still lagging. We are getting older, but our quality of life is not growing proportionally.
The gap between lifespan and healthspan is even scientifically proven and is estimated at about 9 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that a child born in the Netherlands today will spend 71 (70.89) of the 82 (81.79) years of life in good health. Within longevity, a lot of research is being done on this. For example, research is being conducted on how ageing works precisely, but also on ways to slow down, stop, or even reverse the ageing process.
The revolution of longer living
In the past, longevity enthusiasts purely aimed to live as long as possible, at least 150 years. But what is the point of those extra years if you cannot live them in good health? If you do reach such an age, then of course you would want to be super vital and full of energy so that you can continue doing the things you love.
"Longevity is only desirable if it prolongs being young, not drags out being old." - Alexis Carrel
Today, proponents of longevity embrace the principle of Alexis Carrel. The new resolution is to reach the same age, but fitter, more vital, more energetic, and more self-aware. If this also leads to ageing, then that's a nice bonus.
Good to know: the influence of our DNA and genetic composition on our life expectancy is relatively small; only about 20-30 percent. The remaining 70-80 percent is determined by factors such as lifestyle, mindset, and environment. Regardless of your situation, there is always room for (potential) improvement so that you can age healthily.
Blue Zones
Before Dan Buettner published the article "The Secrets of Long Life" in National Geographic in 2005, 'blue zones' mainly referred to the oceans. Today, the Blue Zones are five hotspots in the world where the population lives to an above-average age.
At the time, Buettner and his team searched for places where not only an above-average number of centenarians lived but also people who aged without health problems. Based on these criteria, the five Blue Zones were identified:
- Ikaria in Greece
- Okinawa in Japan
- Ogliastra in Sardinia
- Loma Linda in California
- Nicoya in Costa Rica
What do the Blue Zones have in common?
What is most striking is that the inhabitants of Blue Zones live in a somewhat isolated way – whether on an (island), in a mountainous area, or in a village. Despite living quite remotely, they all have access to medical care.
The Blue Zones are mainly located in sunny, subtropical to tropical areas, resulting in a rare occurrence of vitamin D deficiency. This is beneficial as researchers suspect that a deficiency in the sunshine vitamin can shorten lifespan. Moreover, the inhabitants follow a lifestyle rich in tradition, family, and community. They primarily live on their own farms and work as shepherds or fishermen. This means they are constantly active and spend a lot of time outdoors in nature. Their diet consists mainly of local (self-caught or grown), fresh, and unprocessed foods, while processed products rarely or never appear on the menu.
What can we learn from the Blue Zones? With these tips, you can support your longevity
We cannot really compare our society's living conditions with those of the Blue Zones, but we can certainly learn a few things:
- Exercise every day, preferably outdoors. Alternate gentle forms of physical activity (walking, yoga, cycling) with a good session where you work up a sweat. Did you know that just 15 minutes of exercise a day can add 3 years to your life? Read more in this blog about how to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
- Eat the rainbow. While there is always much debate about which diet is best, almost every diet agrees that eating unprocessed products and more fruits and vegetables is the way to go. Eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes is proven to be good for health and reduces the risk of various diseases. In this blog, read more about how to eat healthily and super varied.
- One serving spoon less. Much research is currently being done on the link between the number of calories we consume and our lifespan. Various (animal) studies suggest that reducing normal calorie intake by 10-50% can extend our years of life
- Work on your sleep routine. Sleep is extremely important for our health; without sleep, our body cannot recover properly. Researchers have discovered that healthy ageing is even linked to having a regular sleep pattern. It certainly pays to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Not only to get the most out of your day with full energy but also for later! Read more in this blog.
- Stress less and relax more. Stress is also called a silent killer because prolonged or chronic stress significantly increases the risk of health problems. If you have to juggle multiple responsibilities, making time to relax daily is very important. Read more here about how to teach your nervous system to relax again.
- Hug your loved ones. Being close to friends and family is not only enjoyable, but it also makes us happier and healthier and helps us live longer. Various studies have shown, for example, that a strong social network positively affects the health of our heart, brain, hormone balance, and immune system. How cool is that?
Mark Hyman writes about this in his book Young Forever: "Live close to nature. Love deeply. Eat simple food raised sustainably. Move naturally. Laugh and rest. Actually live (And live longer, as it turns out).”
Sources:
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- Knoops, K. T., de Groot, L. C., Kromhout, D., Perrin, A. E., Moreiras-Varela, O., Menotti, A., & van Staveren, W. A. (2004). Mediterranean diet, lifestyle factors, and 10-year mortality in elderly European men and women: the HALE project. JAMA, 292(12), 1433–1439. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.292.12.1433
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- Martino, J., Pegg, J., & Frates, E. P. (2015). The Connection Prescription: Using the Power of Social Interactions and the Deep Desire for Connectedness to Empower Health and Wellness. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 11(6), 466–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827615608788
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