How to live a long life, according to science

People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University…"This study suggests that centenarians may possess additional longevity genes that help to buffer them against the harmful effects of an unhealthy lifestyle." [Eureka Alert]

The lack of any increase in people living past 110 is surprising. Demographers are so used to rising average longevity that they might expect to see more of us pushing the boundaries of extreme old age as well. Instead there is an enormous increase in 100-year-olds and not much change in 110-year-olds. The smidgin of good news for the pension industry, therefore, is that it seems that human lifespan comes with some sort of a sell-by date. [Matt Ridley]

Mortals seeking to live beyond a "natural" life span usually don't come out well in myths and stories across cultures and history…Comparable tales appear in texts and myths from Persia, China, Africa, and Mesoamerica, all projecting the theme that immortality is for the gods, and mortals should remain mortal. [When I'm 164: The New Science of Radical Life Extension, and What Happens If It Succeeds]

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, a massive effort that tracked 3,000 people from their 20s to their 90s, concluded that people age at such vastly different rates that by the time they reach 80 or 90, the differences are so marked that birth dates are entirely irrelevant. In fact, there seems to be widespread agreement that after age 35 or 40, the date on your birth certificate is one of the least accurate indications of how old you are. Yes: Every day you get older. But the pace at which you grow older varies enormously. We don't have control over the former. We do have far more control than we think over the latter. [Counterclockwise: My Year of Hypnosis, Hormones, Dark Chocolate, and Other Adventures in the World of Anti-aging]

Is there someone in your life whom you would feel comfortable phoning at four in the morning to tell your troubles to? If your answer is yes, you will likely live longer than someone whose answer is no… [Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being]

No desserts. No sweets. No potatoes. No rice. No bread. No pasta. "When I say 'no,' I mean 'no, or not much,'" she notes. "Instead, eat green vegetables. Eat the fruits that aren't the sweet fruits, like melon." Bananas? "Bananas are a little sweet." Meat? "Meat, yes, of course. Avocados. All vegetables. Nuts. Fish. Chicken. That's what I eat. Cheese. Eggs. And one glass of red wine a day." [Plos Biology]

…connecting with and helping others is more important than obsessing over a rigorous exercise program.

The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become. For people who want improved health, association with other healthy people is usually the strongest and most direct path of change. [The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study]

In a study led by Derek Isaacowitz, we found that the capacity to love and be loved was the single strength most clearly associated with subjective well-being at age eighty. [Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being]

We figured that if a Terman participant sincerely felt that he or she had friends and relatives to count on when having a hard time then that person would be healthier. Those who felt very loved and cared for, we predicted, would live the longest. Surprise: our prediction was wrong… Beyond social network size, the clearest benefit of social relationships came from helping others. Those who helped their friends and neighbors, advising and caring for others, tended to live to old age. [The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study]

…there's no real evidence that the good die young. In fact, although there are always some exceptions (which are therefore notable), generally speaking, it's the good ones who can actually help shape their fate; the bad die early, and the good do great. [The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study]

Conscientiousness, which was the best predictor of longevity when measured in childhood, also turned out to be the best personality predictor of long life when measured in adulthood…By the end of the 20th century, 70 percent of the Terman men and 51 percent of the Terman women had died. It was the unconscientious among them who had been dying in especially large numbers. [The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study]

Most interesting to us, however, was that the conscientious patients (the good adherers) were much more likely to survive whether they were on the Propranolol medication or on the placebo. Being conscientious enough— adherent enough— to fully cooperate with treatment, even if with a placebo, emerged as a more important predictor of mortality risk than the medication itself. [The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study]

There is a terrible misunderstanding about stress. Chronic physiological disturbance is not at all the same thing as hard work, social challenges or demanding careers. People are being given rotten advice to slow down, take it easy, stop worrying and retire to Florida. The Longevity Project discovered that those who worked the hardest lived the longest. The responsible and successful achievers thrived in every way, especially if they were dedicated to things and people beyond themselves.