Texas Medicare Supplement

Want to live well and long?

Thomas Perls, M.D., director of the New England Centenarian study, says your chances depend on these A-G-E-I-N-G factors:

Attitude

“Centenarians tend to be optimistic and also funny and gregarious,” Dr. Perls says. “It’s not so much the amount of stress in your life but how you manage it that seems to be important. And these people have the kind of personalities that probably mean they can manage their stress very well.” People who internalize stressful situations are more prone to develop heart and circulation diseases such as high blood pressure, he adds.

Genetics

Dr. Perls’ study of 1,000 centenarians has shown that exceptional longevity runs in families. So if some of your relatives have lived to 100 or into their 90s, you may have a head start on longevity. But if that’s not true, you can still learn a lot from them. “Check out what led to their mortality and make sure you don’t do the same thing, such as smoking,” he says. “If their deaths were associated with diabetes, you need to be more careful about your diet and exercise to prevent that from happening.”

Exercise

You need to devote 30 minutes a day to exercise. You can break that into smaller pieces that total half an hour. Dr. Perls says it’s fine if your activity comes in the course of your job. Ideally, your heart should beat faster and you should sweat. From middle age onward, he emphasizes the importance of strength training to build up fat-burning muscle. Fat is related to many age-related diseases.

Interests

“Centenarians say what’s really important is having a cause that gets you up in the morning,” Dr. Perls notes. Take on new tasks that challenge your mind. “Once you get good at Sudoku puzzles, move on to something else, whether it be Scrabble, bridge, sculpture, or painting,” he says. “The key is to do something pretty difficult so you are exercising part of your brain that hasn’t been exercised before.” That may build resilience that can delay the onset or progress of memory problems.

Nutrition

If you are not staying at a healthy weight, Dr. Perls says, look at how healthy your diet is, cut back on calories, and exercise more.

Get Rid Of Smoking

“If you smoke you can forget about any desire to lead a long, healthy life,” Dr. Perls warns.

To Learn More :: To gauge your odds of reaching 100, Dr. Perls offers a free longevity calculator at www.livingto100.com.