CBC News – World – P.E.I.-born woman dies at 114 (Don’t worry this will open in a new window)  Come back when you’re done reading.

Something I’ve thought about on/off over the years is what lessons could someone who lives to 100+ teach us.  These lessons would certainly be helpful for anyone, I think, who wants to optimize their health.  So I wanted to include some observations on centenarians.

I tend to think that there must be more to becoming a centernariun than pure chance whether it’s intentional or not.  Because it is difficult to study centenariuns as a group we need to infer certain things from what we know about them.

One important feature is that they are hardly ever what could be called lazy people. Those who live more than a hundred years have nearly always been more mobile and physically active than the average. In particular, they have frequently been vigorous walkers or cyclists. I do not mean to imply that they were athletes it is a strange fact that athletes do not live longer than the rest of us. Violent exercise seems to take its toll on the human body. But the long-lived did take steady, relaxed exercise on an almost daily basis. Madame Calment, for example, was still riding her bicycle around Arles when she was 100.

Mental exercise seems to be as important as physical activity. Nearly all the centenarians retained a sharp interest in the world around them. They still had a zest for life, right to the end. My favourite example is Margaret Murray, the archaeologist, who wrote a book with the wonderful title of My First Hundred Years. Above all, the very long-lived lacked nostalgia. They didnt look back to the good old days they felt that the good days were still ahead of them.

A sense of humour also appeared to be an important ingredient. Most centenarians managed to keep a twinkle in their eyes even if their vision was not as good as it used to be. This twinkle not only reflected that fact that they still found life entertaining, but also revealed that the endorphins released by laughter were still helping to flood their aged bodies with natures in-built pain-killers.

Other qualities that appeared time and again among the centenarians were: a degree of self-discipline a tendency to organise their lives and to impose a pattern on their daily routines; moderation in eating most of them avoided over-eating and under-eating and fad diets were nowhere to be found; moderation in drinking many of them enjoyed alcohol, but only in small, regular amounts; a focus on things outside themselves without too much introspection or self-examination; and finally, and most importantly, a calm, even-tempered nature.

If these are the qualities that are typical of the 100+ survivors, then they must surely give us some clues as to how we, who have not yet reached that extraordinary age, can best increase our chance of getting there.

I tend to think that there must be more to becoming a centernariun than pure chance whether it’s intentional or not.  Because it is difficult to study centenariuns as a group we need to infer certain things from what we know about them.

One important feature is that they are hardly ever what could be called lazy people. Those who live more than a hundred years have nearly always been more mobile and physically active than the average. In particular, they have frequently been vigorous walkers or cyclists. I do not mean to imply that they were athletes it is a strange fact that athletes do not live longer than the rest of us. Violent exercise seems to take its toll on the human body. But the long-lived did take steady, relaxed exercise on an almost daily basis. Madame Calment, for example, was still riding her bicycle around Arles when she was 100.

Mental exercise seems to be as important as physical activity. Nearly all the centenarians retained a sharp interest in the world around them. They still had a zest for life, right to the end. My favourite example is Margaret Murray, the archaeologist, who wrote a book with the wonderful title of My First Hundred Years. Above all, the very long-lived lacked nostalgia. They didn’t look back to the good old days they felt that the good days were still ahead of them.

A sense of humour also appeared to be an important ingredient. Most centenarians managed to keep a twinkle in their eyes even if their vision was not as good as it used to be. This twinkle not only reflected that fact that they still found life entertaining, but also revealed that the endorphins released by laughter were still helping to flood their aged bodies with natures in-built pain-killers.

Other qualities that appeared time and again among the centenarians were: a degree of self-discipline a tendency to organise their lives and to impose a pattern on their daily routines; moderation in eating most of them avoided over-eating and under-eating and fad diets were nowhere to be found; moderation in drinking many of them enjoyed alcohol, but only in small, regular amounts; a focus on things outside themselves without too much introspection or self-examination; and finally, and most importantly, a calm, even-tempered nature.

If these are the qualities that are typical of the 100+ survivors, then they must surely give us some clues as to how we, who have not yet reached that extraordinary age, can best increase our chance of getting there.

What’s this have to do with anything?

Well it serves an example to anyone who truly wants to be informed: the lesson to take from this is that it’s not necessarily what is said in an article but what is not said. Although what was stated in the article was not actually false, it did not present all relevant facts in my opinion. The problem, though, is that the overall impression the reader may be left with is false – without having the additional information, that is. Fortunately I had obtained the additional information by having more than one source of information.

So it’s important to always consult more than one source of information and ask yourself whether all the important facts are likely included in a story whenever you read them.

This is yet another way of being informed and empowered in today’s world where much information is thrown at you. By doing this you put yourself ahead of many who will never take the time to be truly informed.

Happy Holidays!

Matthew

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However he revealed something very profound in an interview with David Frost.

I think you should really give this a serious listen and move beyond the person. The message is universal. Check it out!

There are additional lessons to be learned here:

1. We can play a proactive role in our health as individuals
2. We can form a positive influence on others
3. Adequate health is necessary for parts of a proper functioning society
4. Everyone / everything has a role to play