Prime Time - Jane Fonda [31]
This rectangular metaphor for physical aging is the new goal.
Dr. Tom Kirkwood came up with a term for this drop-off at the end of the rectangle: the “compression of morbidity.” “We want to squeeze the bad things that happen to us at the end of life into as short a period as possible while leaving the life span as it is,” says Kirkwood, who is a professor of medicine and the head of the Department of Gerontology at the University of Newcastle.2
The Eleven Ingredients
There are eleven ingredients that can help us age successfully—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. All of them are within our power to do something about. Listed below, they reflect the findings from a number of important studies and books, most notably the MacArthur Foundation Study of Successful Aging, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, and the writings of Dr. Robert Butler, the late president and CEO of the International Longevity Center in New York. Some of these ideas were given to me by the experts I interviewed, and in the following chapters I discuss each of them, with illustrative stories from the lives of my friends and from my own life.
1. NOT ABUSING ALCOHOL
Never having abused alcohol is considered by some gerontologists to be the single highest predictor of successful aging. In his book Aging Well, Dr. George Vaillant defines “alcohol abuse” (rather than simply “reported alcohol consumption”) as “the evidence of multiple alcohol-related problems (with spouse, family, employer, law, or health) and/or evidence of alcohol-related dependence.”3 He goes on to say that “alcohol abuse is a cause rather than a result of increased life stress, of depression.”
2. NOT SMOKING
Never having smoked or stopping at a relatively young age is another major predictor of healthy aging. According to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, “If a man had stopped smoking by about age 45, the effects of smoking (more than a pack a day for 20 years) could at 70 or 80 no longer be discerned.”4
As critical as these first two points are, I have not elaborated on them because I feel they are self-evident.
3. GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP
My father always told me that you need less sleep as you get older. Well, Dad, I’m still waiting! On average, I get eight or nine hours of sleep every night and, frankly, I don’t do well on less. I rarely feel stress if I’ve slept enough. Perhaps that’s because sleep is one of the best remedies for stress.
Unfortunately, Dad was right in one way: As you get older, your sleep lightens progressively. Many older people say they spend more time in bed but sleep less; when they do sleep, it’s what is called “dream sleep,” as opposed to deep sleep. Deep sleep is important throughout the life span, but it is essential when we are older, when our tissues need replenishing yet our human growth hormone and testosterone levels are diminished. When we are in a state of deep sleep, there is a surge of growth hormone. This is important for the restoration of our body’s tissues, especially the tissues of the heart. Regular exercise, by the way, is a wonderful way to develop your ability to sleep more deeply.
If you are sleep challenged, try not to drink coffee or caffeinated tea or sodas after lunch—duh! Better yet, do away with all of it, except perhaps one cup in the morning. At night, try eating foods that contain natural tryptophan—milk, turkey, and complex carbohydrates.
4. BEING PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
I have a lot to say about this point. Maintaining a healthy weight, a strong heart, and strong bones through regular physical activity is a major ingredient in the recipe for successful aging. And what is truly good news is that even if you first start to incorporate exercise into your