Frankly, the typical scenario with a decade or more of physical and cognitive decline before death scares the bejeezus out of me. I know what I am talking about here. My mother died in her early 70s after decades of being obese and a year of fighting cancer. My father suffered a major stroke 5 years ago when he was in his mid 70s. Every year he gets weaker and weaker and physical therapy can only bolster his abilities so much. Every year his mental acuity becomes more and more tenuous. These days anything that goes off the script of “Hi Linda, how are you?, how’s <my husband>? How are the kids (he means the cats)… I am sick and tired of myself, I wish I could die.” causes confusion. He usually doesn’t know what day it is. He can’t tell me what he had for lunch or what happened at a doctor’s appointment. The only thing that brings him joy is watching old movies that he took when he was in the prime of his life and I was a small child. He is a very depressed man trapped in a very frail body that is decaying around him. I love him, but I never want to be like him.

I want to be the 105 year old lady that still drives her car (but not one of the ones that drives into houses), lifts weights, and has a bawdy sense of humor. I hope to have the mental ability to learn and master new technologies regardless of where they take me. The question is – how can I do that? I don’t want to resign myself to a fate similar to either of my parents. So, what have I learned?

• It’s not all genetic – studies have been done on identical twins in the area of longevity and they have determined that about 10% of longevity is due to genes. 90% is due to environment. The good news is that our parents’ destiny does not have to be our own.
• A healthy and nutritious diet and maintaining a healthy body fat percentage is imperative – if you eat too much and/or don’t get enough exercise, you get too fat (sorry, this is not politically correct, but it is the result). Contrary to popular belief, you can be even appear skinny and have a lot of visceral fat. If you have too much fat you have a much better chance of having heart disease, diabetes, or a stroke. If you also weigh too much you put too much pressure on your joints and you become less and less mobile. Changing to a completely plant based diet has been illuminating for me. I’ve never been overweight, but this change dropped my body fat percentage by about 4 points on my Tanita scale. I love fruits, nuts, and vegetables and I can eat as much of them as I want. I wouldn’t say that I subscribe to a Paleo diet, but the diet of our hunter gatherer ancestors is clearly a lot healthier for most of us. The older I get, the more problems I have with our overly processed industrial/agricultural (grains, dairy) foods.
• Get enough sleep – I don’t feel like myself if I don’t get 8 hours of sleep every night. I’ve learned to sleep when I am tired, it doesn’t matter what time of day or night. I don’t use caffeinated beverages to overcome my need to sleep. Naps/siestas are a great way to feel reinvigorated later. I listen to my body and sleep when it tells me I need to and I rarely get insomnia.
• Move enough – This doesn’t mean an exercise program per se. It means not being a couch potato. I’ve always been a complete fidget so this comes naturally for me. It means working in the yard or the garden. It means taking a lot of walks and bike rides. It can even mean less vigorous work like making bread by hand instead of buying it or using a bread machine. I love to hand knead bread. If you don’t use your physical capabilities, you lose them. Sarcopenia starts to set in around age 45, when muscle mass begins to decline at a rate of about 1 percent per year. This gradual loss has been tied to protein deficiency, lack of exercise, and increased frailty among the elderly. In my case I am going to keep on lifting weights. I’m 45 and right now I have more muscle mass than I had in my 20s – let’s hope I can keep most of it. I’d love to honor the memory of Jack LaLanne, who still worked out a few hours every day up until he died after a short illness at the age of 96. Talk about an amazing man!
• Maintain connections to society and provide value – This is going to be a tough one for me. I’m an introvert with decidedly hermit-like tendencies at times. I also don’t have a big family support structure. It’s really rather sparse. Now that I am retired I interact on a regular basis with far fewer people. I also don’t have a lot of very close friends. I don’t have kids and at my age most people are completely wrapped up in raising their families. I’ve lost touch with a lot of people. At times it is pretty lonely. Clearly, I need to find more hobbies that get me out there and that better develop my social network. Golf league? Maybe. Volunteering for an animal rescue organization? Likely. Consulting part time? Could be. Volleyball? Definitely.

  Have you spent the time to think about how you can have an above average life expectancy?

  
  ]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2011/08/13/longevity-and-m/feed/ 4 winethinker http://lindabonanno.com/2010/02/23/social-intelligence/ http://lindabonanno.com/2010/02/23/social-intelligence/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:01:30 +0000 LBonanno http://lindabonanno.com/?p=720 Continue reading →]]> I just finished reading the book Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success by Karl Albrecht. This is a fine book that really expands the Social Intelligence facet of Gardner’s concept of multiple intelligence. Having a high IQ is not a sure path to success. There are a number of other types of intelligence, like Emotional Intelligence (self awareness and control) and Social Intelligence (the ability to deal with people) that are also very important in today’s world.

  For a quick read that gives a good overview of this topic, see the following article on Karl Albrecht’s website.

  
  ]]> http://lindabonanno.com/2010/02/23/social-intelligence/feed/ 0 winethinker Social Intelligence