Aging Well
We often hear through the media that as a nation, we are an Aging population. This can bring with it certain challenges, especially at a government level. Statements indicating Australians are living longer come from data showing us that over time, our average age is getting older. Around 50 years ago in 1970, there were approximately 1 million people in Australia over 65yo equating to 8.3% of the population and 63,200 people over 85 years old (0.5%). We now have recent statistics from 2020 which show the number of people over 65 has increased to 4.2 million people (16%) and those over 85yo has increased to 528,000 which is now 2.1% of the Australian population. The analytics are estimating by 2066 (within another 45 years), those over 65 years of age will contribute to 22% of the population and those over 85 years will make up about 4%.
What these statistics can show us, is the increasing chance that you will live longer than you think. No matter what stage of life we are at, we can use this information to start planning to live longer.
When you think about living to at least 85 years, what would that look like for you? In developed countries like Australia, we often relate ageing with declining health including cognitive decline. But what if you knew you were likely to live that long and there are a number of steps you can start taking now that could drastically change the quality of your life in decades to come.
In his book, the Blue Zones, Dan Buettner found communities around the world where a high percentage of people live to 80, 90 and over 100 years.n these blue zone communities, he found that the people who were living to these ages were still staying active as they aged. He found there were several aspects to their lives that were an important part of living a long, active healthy life.
When we think about aspects of living a long healthy life, we think about what food we eat, getting regular exercises, good sleep and maybe minimising our stress levels. While these are important aspects of living a long, active life, a lot of research now shows that maintaining strong social relationships and having a strong purpose in life are probably the 2 strongest factors in not just living a long life, but also in being happy and healthy as we age.
In regards to relationships, studies have shown that people who have strong relationships tend to be happier and live longer. It is the quality of the relationships that seems to matter more than how many people we know. This might explain why the increased use of social media and more digital connection has led to an increase in people feeling lonely and disconnected. Social media has pushed us towards valuing more connections and more likes than focusing on building deeper and more meaningful connections with the people closest to us.
When exploring the importance of having a strong purpose and the relationship to living a long and happy life, the book Ikigai (Garcia & Miralles) looks at the Japanese culture of living your purpose and how that has influenced the people of Okinawa which is one of the Blue Zones and has the highest number of people that live to 100 years or more. Ikigai translates to "the happiness of always being busy”, but might be better described as the reason you get out of bed in the morning or your life purpose that makes you happy.
How long can we live??
When we start to look at ageing well, a good place to start might be to ask - How long can the human body last? While science does not know for sure, it is probably at least 120 years. While a lot of research suggests that 140-150 might be the limit to how long the human body may be able to live, Dave Asprey, a well known author and biohacker is taking steps to try and live to 180 years.
We know that many aspects of ageing begins in our late 20’s/early 30’s such as changes to hormones (slow decline of testosterone in males or oestrogen in females) and ageing of our neurons (nerve cells in our brain). It is never too early to take proactive steps to slow this process which is vital to living an active healthy life to 85 and beyond.
In his book, Outlive, The science and art of longevity, Dr Peter Attia goes into depth about the main things that people in developed countries die from and steps we can take to minimise the risks as we age. By being aware of our own personal risk factors (like family history, etc) we can start to make more informed lifestyle choices.
While you have no control over your genetics, which can predetermine some aspects of your health, we now know from the variety of studies into ageing that the older you get, the healthier you have been over your lifetime. Living a long healthy life is not luck, it is often the result of the way a person has lived their life.
Getting Proactive about ageing
What are the steps you can start to take in order to live an active healthy life as you age? No matter what stage of life you are at, the choices you make about your health now will determine your quality of life in years to come. On top of learning more about the ageing secrets of the blue zones (book or Netflix series) and decreasing your risk to common health issues (Dr Attica - Outlive), here are some steps you take now to improve your health now and in the future;
Diet - Decrease sugar consumption - sugar will age you faster and is particularly bad for brain health as we age. What you eat is the fuel for your body so fuel it well with lots of fruit and veggies and minimise processed foods.
Stay active and move your body - People in the blue zones live active lives where they move regularly throughout the day. Regular movement is the key to looking after your body.
Nurture strong relationships with people close to you.
Find your Ikigai - What is your reason for getting up in the morning? What drives you and makes you happy in life?
Sleep 7-8 hours per night - see our previous newsletter and blogs about the effects of sleep on our health.