7 keys to longevity proven by medicine

Man has been searching for the secret of immortality for thousands of years. For some people today, that exploration includes things like sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber, experimenting with cryotherapy, or bombarding yourself with infrared light.

most of aging specialist He doubts that such actions significantly increase the upper limit of human life. He believes that by practicing a few simple behaviors, many people they can stay healthy longerReaching the age of 80, 90 and even 100 years in good physical and mental shape. Such ways of behaving are not as novel as transfusing one’s young blood.

U.S. “People are looking for a magic pill,” said Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, scientific director of the National Institute on Aging. “And the magic pill is here”,

Here are seven tips from geriatricians on how to add more good years to your life.

The first thing the experts suggested was keep your body active, That’s because study after study has shown that exercise reduces the risk of premature death.

physical activity Keeps heart and circulatory system healthy And provides protection against many chronic diseases affecting the body and mind. Too strengthens musclesWhich can reduce the risk of falls in older people.

“If we spend part of our adulthood developing our muscles, our strength, our balance and our cardiovascular endurance, it will begin to diminish as the body ages. then from a stronger place What’s going to happen next,” explained Anna Chang, a professor of medicine specializing in geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.

is the best exercise any activity you enjoy And you continue to do so. You don’t need to do a lot: The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, which means walking just 20 minutes a day is already beneficial.

Experts didn’t recommend one specific diet over another, but in general they recommended eating in moderation. tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods, The Mediterranean diet – which prioritizes fresh produce in addition to whole grains, legumes, nuts, fish and olive oil – is a good model for healthy eating and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia. Has gone.

Some experts say maintaining a healthy weight is important for longevity, but for Dr. John Rowe, a professor of health and aging policy at Columbia University, it’s of less concern, especially as people enter older age. Are. “I’m always more concerned about my patients who gain weight than my patients who gain weight,” Rowe said.

Sleep is sometimes underestimated, but it plays a vital role in healthy aging. Research has found that the average amount of sleep a person gets at night is related to their risk of death from any cause, and that getting good sleep quality Can continuously add years to your life.

Sleep appears to be particularly important brain health: A 2021 study found that people who slept less than five hours a night had twice the risk of dementia.

“As people get older need more sleep not less“said Alison Moore, professor of medicine and chief of geriatrics, geriatric and palliative care at the University of California, San Diego. Overall Seven to nine hours are recommendedHe added.

It goes without saying, but Smoking increases the risk of suffering from all kinds of fatal diseases, “There is no dose of cigarette smoke that is good for your health,” Rowe said.

We are beginning to understand how bad excessive alcohol consumption is. More than one alcoholic drink per day for women and more than two for men (and possibly even less) increases the risk of heart disease and atrial fibrillation, liver disease and seven types of cancer.

All the healthy behaviors mentioned above help control high blood pressure, cholesterol and prediabetes and prevent them from developing into more serious diseases, but sometimes lifestyle precautions are not enough. That’s why experts call it important Follow your doctor’s advice To keep things under control.

“Taking medication is no fun, controlling your blood pressure and blood sugar is no fun,” Dr. Chang recalled. “But when we optimize all those things into one package, they also help us Live a better, healthier and longer life,

psychological health This often takes a back seat to physical health, but Anna Chang explained that it is just as important. “Isolation and loneliness are as harmful to our health as smoking,” he said, adding that it puts us “at greater risk of dementia, heart disease and stroke.”

Personal relationships are important to live not only with better health but also with greater happiness. According to Harvard University’s Adult Development Study, Strong relationships are the biggest predictor of happiness,

John Rowe tells his medical students that the best indicator of how well an elderly patient will do in six months is to ask “How many friends or family did you visit last week?”,

even think positive It can help you live longer. Several studies have found that optimism is associated with a lower risk of heart disease and that people who score higher on optimism tests live 5% to 15% longer than more pessimistic people.

This may be because people are optimistic healthy habits And rates of some chronic diseases have gone down, but even taking those factors into account, research shows that people who think positively live longer anyway.

If you must choose a healthy exercise for your longevity, “do some type of physical activity,” said Dr. Alison Moore. “If you can’t do that, focus on being a positive person.”

the new York Times. special for clarin

Translation: Román García Azcarete