THERE IS NO MAGIC TO LONGEVITY

By Ryhaan Shah

We have been taking note of the various ways recommended for a long and healthy life. They are simple everyday things that we just need to be aware of: how we move, eat, rest, relax, and connect.
Over the past months, we have learnt about the importance of regular exercise that is as simple as walking as far and as fast as you are comfortably able to do. This, along with a healthy diet of good protein, fats, and fresh fruits and vegetables, restful sleep, keeping up social connections with family and friends, and staying away from stress and anxiety, works together to maintain good health and well-being.
Also important are continuing to have a purpose, whether it’s a daily activity, reaching out to a friend, doing volunteer work, or helping your grandchildren with their homework; and the other, depending on our personal beliefs, is to continue to nurture our spirituality, whether it’s attending regular prayers or simply reading some uplifting poetry or motivational books.
The point of enjoying a long life is, of course, to live as well and as healthily as possible as we age. None of us want to have years of frailty and dependence, and to this end, taking the time to look after ourselves is critical.
Genetics do play a part in longevity. If our grandparents lived a long life, then we are more likely to follow that pattern. However, research shows that lifestyle also largely matters when it comes to longevity.
My father lived to age 98. Neither of his parents nor his seven siblings enjoyed that longevity. He was active and healthy until his very last year, perhaps because, since he was in his sixties, he took note of his cholesterol levels, remained active, and enjoyed freshly cooked meals with lots of fruits and vegetables and less meat, especially red meats like beef and mutton.
Dr Barzilai, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, says, “Good health is surprisingly unglamorous. What matters most are the basics that people already know about but rarely execute consistently over decades. There is no magic to it.”
Movement is the closest thing people have to a “master signal”, he says. “It improves nearly every system at once, from insulin sensitivity to brain health to bone density. And cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest predictors of mortality we have ever measured.”
This could mean pushing yourself to exercise even on the days when you don’t feel like it. “And everyday movement counts on its own,” the doctor says. “Breaking up long stretches of sitting with two to three minutes of light activity measurably improves glucose and blood pressure responses.”
For our diet, getting enough protein becomes more important, not less, as we age. “And avoid the large blood glucose spikes you get from refined carbohydrates eaten on their own, which in practice means anchoring meals with protein, healthy fats, and fibre,” says Dr Barzilai.
Sleep is also fundamental to longevity because that is when the body takes care of essential maintenance-clearing metabolic waste from the brain, consolidating memory, and resetting the hormones that govern appetite and stress.
Experts recommend that we get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Since research shows that consistency matters more than quantity, having a set time to go to bed and to wake up is something most of us can manage for our health’s sake.
Chronic stress is another issue that impacts us negatively. It is unhealthy for our immune system and heart, disrupts our sleep, and can accelerate our ageing process. The best antidote to stress is exercise. It is one of the best-known stress and mood interventions that we have.
Besides walking, squatting, or yoga, some resistance training such as lifting light weights and aerobic activity like fast walking, if we are able, can improve our overall health significantly.
Every one of these recommendations is important to our health and longevity, and the one that is most underrated and often overlooked is our social connectivity. While most of us take care of our physical health with exercise, nutrition, and taking our prescribed medications, we often neglect the importance of maintaining our friendships, which provide us, more often than not, with the conversations and laughter that are as vital to our well-being as diet and exercise.
The habits most strongly linked to living a longer, healthier life are some of the simplest: move regularly, eat well, sleep sufficiently, manage stress, stay connected to others, have a purpose, and nurture your spiritual well-being.