How to live longer, supposedly
Right up there with being more polite
Low power mode …
Live long and prosper
Want to live long and prosper? Step one would seem to be: make sure you “live long.”
We’ve seen that drinking lots of coffee makes a long life more likely. (Also, never smoking.
Now, I’ve got four more life habits to suggest, thanks to research by a neuroscientist at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
For nearly two decades, Claudia Kawas, a professor of neurobiology and behavior and neurology at the University of California, Irvine has led a team studying the health and habits of over the age of 90, to determine what makes it more likely that people will live to that age.
The cohort is called simply the 90+ Study. It’s ongoing, in fact; details are at the bottom of this newsletter if you know someone over 90 who might want to join).
Here are the key findings Kawas presented that suggested people would live longer. Two of them are especially surprising.
They drink alcohol. Participants in the 90+ Study who consumed the equivalent of two glasses of beer or wine per day were 18 percent less likely to experience premature death. (More on this one below.)
They’re slightly overweight. Those who were a bit overweight during their 70s (but not obese) were 3 percent less likely to experience premature death.
They have hobbies. This one is a bit less surprising, but had the biggest percentage impact: Participants who devoted two or more hours a day to hobbies were 21 percent less likely to die early.
They have some physical activity. Specifically, engaging in physical activity such as walking for 15 to 45 minutes each day reduced the likelihood of early death by 11 percent.
Unfortunately, although perhaps not unexpectedly, about 40 percent of people over 90 suffer from dementia, according to the study, and 80 percent have some kind of disability.
We should spend a little bit of extra time on what’s probably the most surprising finding: the one that suggests drinking alcohol improves longevity.
The thing to keep in mind here is that it’s moderate alcohol use that appeared to have a positive outcome on life expectancy—just a couple of glasses a day.
“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas was quoted as saying by the British newspaper The Independent.
It’s the time of year when people start talking about resolutions and change, so I think this would be a good time to share this. By the way, if you or someone you know is approaching 90 years or older, the 90+ Study is looking for more participants—or at least, they were as of a couple of years ago.
(Requirements: Be able to participate in two annual visits with researchers, and be willing to donate your brain to research after death. You can call (949) 768-3635 in the United States or email study90@uci.edu for more information.)
7 other things worth the time it takes you to read them
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Isiah Whitlock Jr., a veteran character actor known for memorable roles in such series as The Wire, Veep, Your Honor and The Residence and a number of Spike Lee movies, died Tuesday in New York. He was 71. Whitlock is probably best known for playing corrupt State Sen. R. Clayton “Clay” Davis on HBO’s The Wire. He appeared on all five seasons of David Simon’s lauded crime drama, recurring in Seasons 1-4 before joining the main cast in Season 5. (Deadline)
Taxing the rich to fund social services is not a new idea. But an attempt to do it in California has met an unusually potent backlash. That’s because the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act has split two of the most powerful forces in California politics: unions and Silicon Valley. The division became clear last week, when tech influencers clashed online with elected officials and labor leaders who support the wealth tax. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Thieves stole tens of millions of euros worth of property from safety deposit boxes inside a German bank vault that they drilled into Monday during the holiday lull, police said. Some 2,700 bank customers were affected by the theft in Gelsenkirchen, police and the Sparkasse bank said. (AP)
Americans in 1998 tried to predict 2025. Here’s what they got right. (CNN)
Thanks for reading and happy holidays. See you in the comments!
I've recently read that doctors recommend seniors abstain from alcohol, which negatively affects brain function in any amount, contributing to dementia. So, we can live longer by drinking in moderation but increase our chance of losing our minds?
Not an expert here, but I think for those that drink alcohol moderately, that might be kind of a stress-reliever and may help longevity, not necessarily the alcholol itself. To me, it just seems you need to keep active as best you can in mind and body. I am past retirement age but still work and enjoy it. I have seen many of my co-workers retire to do nothing and I see a great decline in their health. I am not a TV watcher. I have to be constantly doing something. There are still a lot of things I can do, but my physical strength limits many things. I also try and be cognizant of my capabilities and work within that framework. Just my opinion... we do not know what lurks inside our bodies.