Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Good-Looking Corpse....Or how not to do any of that.
My grandma recently celebrated her 91st birthday. I have on a few occasions asked her what keeps her ‘young’; the answers vary depending on the day. If someone was to ask me what her secret is, I would probably tell you that having lived through World War II, immigration and the difficulties of starting a new life in a country where you don’t speak the language, you learn to take life as it comes, and to stop stressing about the things you can’t change. In my opinion, the secret to a long life lives somewhere in those experiences and your reaction to them.
A recent study, “The Longevity Project”, found that society’s pre-conceived notions of ‘who lives longer’ may be wrong. The findings, reported in a book of the same title, are the culmination of eight decades worth of research following 1,500 participants, the longest study of its kind. Like any research based study, the results are not impervious to challenge. An interview with Leslie Martin, co-author of the book, was recently reported in the Toronto Star (found here), addresses some of the potential issues with the research.
Apparently conscientiousness, living honestly and living happily can help you live longer. It is noted however, that the study isn’t based on a closed environment. The variety of factors that can lead to a long life can’t necessarily be easily categorized or quantified. Even if isolation of each factor were possible for the purpose of examination, those factors exist in relation to each other, with each person bringing their own unique string of factors to study.
I’m certain that we can all take steps to live a healthier, happier and generally longer life. The choices you make are ultimately personal, but I invite you to look at this study, you never know what may apply to you. The one thing glaringly missing in the Longevity Project is the complete lack of genetic data for the sample. For now, I think I’m going to hang my hat on that – Thanks Grandma.
Until Tomorrow,
Nadia M. Harasymowycz - Click here for more information on Nadia Harasymowycz.
