Longevity and Attitude

Longevity and Attitude -

“To what do you attribute your longevity?” is a question I like to ask my Life Priority customers over ninety. They almost always have interesting insights like hard work, leading a clean life, getting out for fresh air and exercise every day, or the right parents.

The life expectancy of Americans has approximately doubled over the last century. The average American today lives seventy-eight years; males typically make it to age seventy-four, and females to age eighty. Scientists estimate the maximum potential human life span at 120 years, and in fact the longest well-documented human life was 122 years.

Longevity has been assumed to be mostly a matter of being born with the right genes, but experts tell us that only about one-third of aging is attributable to genetics. You have much more control over the aging process than you probably have imagined. Of course, you will age more gracefully if you exercise daily, maintain a healthy weight, eat right, and don’t smoke or abuse alcohol. But learning how to effectively cope with and avoid stress is also a major factor in living a long and vigorous life.

Among the strongest predictors of who will live to advanced ages are traits like optimism, volunteerism, and an ability to work through problems and still maintain enthusiasm and love of life. A recent study showed that people who live a century or more have several traits in common: