How To Live to 100 Five Steps From Those Who’ve Reached That Milestone

August 14, 2024

The average American life expectancy keeps falling, even as our cars keep getting older. The average passenger car in the U.S. is 14-years old. With new cars costing almost $50,000, it’s not surprising that fewer people want to trade in their old jalopy for something shinier. Along with the punishment to purse and pocketbook, lots of folks don’t want to deal with touchy touchscreens, dodgy dash cams, and maladaptive braking. “Recently my wife bought a new Toyota Highlander and it comes with a semester at MIT to learn the turn signal,” Dan Barkin, a retired newspaper editor, recently joked to The Wall Street Journal. 

It takes a fair amount of work to keep a car running past the 100,000 mark. There’s regular maintenance, parts replacement, and becoming best friends with your mechanic. If we put that much effort into keeping our cars running, shouldn’t we be willing to devote at least as much energy to our bodies? Many believe that life expectancy need not be limited. Just as it takes work to keep a car running past 100K, it takes effort for a person to live past 100 years. Yet it can be done. Here’s some advice from centenarians – men and women who’ve all celebrated their 100th birthday. 

Exceeding the Average Lifespan 

Although it’s recently rebounded slightly, overall average American life expectancy has been declining. Deaths have been driven by everything from COVID to a rise in car crash fatalities, cancer, drug overdoses, and heart disease. 

In 2023, the average lifespan for men plummeted to just over 73 – nearly six years less than women. Brandon Yan, a resident physician at the UCSF School of Medicine and a research collaborator at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is the lead author of a recent JAMA study. He points out that despite the modest improvement in women’s average life expectancy, “The opioid epidemic, mental health, and chronic metabolic disease are certainly front and center in the data that we see here, explaining why there’s this widening life expectancy gap by gender, as well as the overall drop in life expectancy.” As Yan explained to StatNews, “We have a health care system that is very advanced in treating illnesses and advanced disease. But for the most part … it is not very good when it comes to preventative care.”

It doesn’t have to be that way. James F. Fries proposed in 1980 that because chronic conditions would appear later in life, as people got progressively older then they would enjoy more healthy, active years as a result. This idea is commonly referred to as the “healthspan.” Instead, researcher Eileen Crimmins examined data from the National Health Interview Survey and discovered that from 1998 through 2006 loss of functional mobility in the elderly increased. She realized that people were living longer with diseases and chronic conditions. 

This is not what longevity should be about. It should be about enjoying an active, fulfilling life. It’s definitely possible to exceed the average lifespan. So where do you start? Well many of the centenarians interviewed by the AARP, the Washington Post, and other media outlets gave one bit of consistent advice. Listen to the ones who came before you. So here are five tips not only for living longer but for living better. 

  1. Find Your Baseline

Do you really know how well your body is working? Just as a mechanic might run your vehicle’s diagnostics, if you’re embarking on a new fitness or diet journey hoping to lengthen your lifespan, you need to find out where you are. What’s your cardiovascular health like, how are your hormone levels, where are your biggest risk factors? Discovering this information could be an expensive, time consuming process. Fortunately, Kyla Clinics offers all this and more with an at-home test that’s just $99. 

It’s simple. Fill out an online health questionnaire and choose the best at-home blood test for you. You’ll receive the test in just a few days. After an easy blood draw, send the sample back. Mail it back to Kyla and in a few days you’ll receive your results. You’ll learn about heart and kidney health and any risks you should be watching. You can also consult with a Kyla doctor who will put you on track toward lengthening your life expectancy. With the Kyla App, you’ll be able to chart your nutritional and fitness progress as well as set goals for the future. Of course, not every aspect of life can be entered into a simple chart. 

  1. Relationships Matter

Solo journeys are not only less interesting, they often don’t last as long. Studies have demonstrated that marriage extends life expectancy. In fact, people who are married live longer than people who are cohabitating. Although the gap is narrowing as single males in particular become more proficient at taking care of themselves, data suggests that marriage lengthens not just lifespan but active, healthy years. Speaking to The Washington Post, Leonard Samuel ‘Sam’ Baker, 101 lamented the loss of his wife Janet who he married in 1954 and called a “perfect soulmate.” 

However, it’s not just about marriage. Friendships are also important. In fact, one examination of almost 150 studies looked at over 300,000 participants who were tracked for more than seven years. Researchers discovered that people with strong social ties were fifty percent more likely to still be alive at the studies’ conclusion – regardless of their health, gender, age, or cause of death. Extrapolating the data, Inc. magazine contributing editor Jeff Haden suggested that, “the health risk of having few friends is similar to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and more dangerous to your lifespan than being obese or not exercising.”

In fact, one study from Australia suggested that while the longest lifespans belong to those who have close friendships, close relationships with our children or relatives has almost no effect. Maybe the family we choose matters more than the one we are given.

Regardless, becoming a good friend, one who listens and makes time for someone else may do more to extend your life than any other activity.  As 101-year old Madeline Paldo, told The Washington Post, she’s had one friend for over sixty-years – and they still regularly lunch together. “Enjoy your friends while you have them,” she told the newspaper. “I’ve lost a few through the years but the ones I’ve got, I cherish.”

For those who are challenged to find a close human companion, a fur baby might be the solution. Studies have shown that having a dog improves sleep quality and cardiovascular health. Examining data for over three million Swedish residents, one study concluded that, “Compared with individuals who did not own a dog, the people in multi-person and single-person households who did own a dog had an 11 percent and 33 percent lower risk, respectively, of all-cause death. In single-person households, dog ownership was tied to a 36 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death, while dog ownership in multi-person households was linked to a 15 percent reduced risk of cardiovascular death.” Unlike cats, dogs encourage exercise and human interaction – both of which are excellent at extending lifespans. 

Relationships come in all shapes and sizes. Some find a loving community in their faith. Here again those who are active in their churches, temples, and mosques enjoy an outsized advantage over those who aren’t. In fact, faith seems to be one way to extend life beyond the average lifespan – and here the research isn’t on the afterlife. One study that looked at obituaries found religious observance added nearly ten years of average lifespan compared to the deceased who didn’t list a faith. Another study suggested the added years were closer to six and one half. This is still impressive considering that as doctoral researcher in psychology at the Ohio State University in Columbus Laura Wallace pointed out to Medical News Today, “Religious affiliation had nearly as strong an effect on longevity as gender does, which is a matter of years of life.” 

In the case of these studies, it didn’t seem to matter how active participants were with community events or other social activities suggesting that the practice of religion itself from prayer to recitation may be the longevity lengthener. No matter what your age, it’s never too late to join a group or begin a social activity. Just remember, it’s the friends we make in real life that matter when it comes to average lifespan. There’s no evidence that the number of online followers you accumulate will increase your longevity. 

  1. Find A Passion and Stick With It

One reason so many retirees die within five years of ending their careers is that their life is suddenly robbed of purpose. Having a passion that endures creates a daily reason to get out of bed. Sam Baker writes children’s books. Gladys McGarey, M.D., began her career near the conclusion of World War Two and is still practicing medicine at 102. Alice Lee, the sister of Too Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee, practiced law until she was almost 100. Commenting on her death at 103, Retired United Methodist minister Thomas Lane Butts told NPR in 2014, “Whenever there was a question in the community that no one could answer, the saying was, ‘Go ask Miss Alice.’Her death is like the closing of a great library.” 

Instead of focusing on retirement, focus on finding a fulfilling passion. Take a course. Embark on a fulfilling new hobby. Discover a side hustle that becomes a career. Unlike fifty years ago, many successful people continue to work in their 80s and beyond – not because they have to but because they love it. 

  1. Exercise and Eat Right

Although the diets and exercise habits of centenarians are varied, research supports the idea that an active lifestyle and healthy food can help extend life expectancy. Increasingly, studies have shown that heart healthy diets that can lengthen life spans are plant-based. Vegetables and fruits along with whole grains should dominate most meals. Protein is delivered by fish and lean chicken with red meat consumed in moderation. Plant-based diets not only reduce cardiovascular disease but also cancer and may even prevent conditions affecting the brain. For healthy snacks, choosing almonds, walnuts, or even peanuts may reduce mortality risk. Anything that prevents weight gain can lengthen lifespan – because being overweight has been consistently shown to shorten life. 

Physical activity is also important. Getting between 15 to 30 minutes of moderate activity can make a real difference. So can resistance training – people who lift weights often have fewer health issues than those who don’t. And with proper training, people in their 80s and beyond can safely lift weights. 

One recent study has shown that walking speed is a good predictor of lifespan. Faster walkers were shown to have a lowered risk for all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality. Regardless of activity, being active can really help. As 100-year old Bikram Singh Grewal of India told The Washington Post, he eats plenty of fruits and vegetables and played golf regularly into his 90s. As he put it, “I believe it is a combination of a good diet, exercise, and a fixed sleep schedule that can help anyone in reaching the age of 100.”

Kyla can really help you live a longer life. Their at-home testing is about more than learning if your cardiovascular and hormonal health is optimal. It’s about going over your test results with a Kyla doctor who will provide real time data and insights Because of their proprietary. AI-driven data you’ll soon learn the lifestyle hacks that can lengthen your lifespan and improve your mood. Using the Kyla app, you’ll be able to monitor your data and set goals that can lengthen your lifespan. 

  1. Learn Compassion, Patience, and Tolerance

Some people are blessed with even temperaments. For the rest of us, compassion, patience, and tolerance are learned behavior. In interview after interview, people who had celebrated more than 100 birthdays emphasized the value of getting along with others. As Londoner Colin Bell explained to The Washington Post, when he was in his 20s he didn’t value those qualities, “I didn’t understand the importance of kindness and tolerance at that age. I like to think that I’ve developed it since.”

While those who reach the age of 100 offer many different reasons for why they have enjoyed such long lives, doctors tend to give the same answer. As geriatrician Thomas Perls, M.D., told AARP, “Look at your family history,” and if your ancestors hit their 90s, “I think that can be very, very good news for you.” 

Kyla is focused on leveraging the most recent advances in medical technology because in the future it may help overcome current concerns like genetics and inherited diseases. In fact, some scientists believe we are approaching longevity escape velocity. Also known as age escape velocity or actuarial escape velocity, this occurs when technology can extend a person’s life by more than a year for every year they are alive. It isn’t about enduring disease or battling debilitating conditions. It’s about overcoming them while  lengthening not just your average lifespan but your healthspan as well. In other words, reaching 100 and even beyond may soon be possible for the many rather than the few. 

Sources:

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