E<\/span>xperts studying what gets us to 100 and beyond focus a lot on our genes, and that makes sense. How we\u2019re wired genetically plays a pivotal role in reaching a triple-digit age.<\/p>\n But there are many other factors we can control that will optimize our chances of living to 100 in good health, and they\u2019re not limited to eating cleanly, exercising regularly, and managing stress. Researchers are increasingly preoccupied with another extreme longevity X-factor: Looking on the bright side.<\/p>\n One of the things that surprised me the most in my research for my new book, THE BIG 100: The New World of Super-Aging, is the role that positivity plays in helping us achieve not only an exceptionally long but vibrant and healthy life span.<\/p>\n France\u2019s Jeanne Calment, the oldest person who ever lived whose birthdate can be authenticated by records, credited hope and humor for helping her live to 122 years and 164 days. Toward the end of her majestically long life, Calment didn\u2019t wear mascara because she often laughed so heartily she\u2019d cry it off. Her advice to the rest of us: \u201cAlways keep your smile.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers at Boston University\u2019s School of Medicine, examining how optimism affects our health<\/a> by following 233 older men over a period of 14 years, found it appears to promote emotional well-being by helping us handle daily stress more constructively. \u201cOptimism may promote good health as people age,\u201d says Lewina O. Lee, a clinical psychologist who coauthored the study.<\/p>\n Lee also participated in a separate study of a racially and socioeconomically diverse group of nearly 160,000 U.S. women aged 50 to 79. It found those who scored highest for optimism were 10 percent more likely to live beyond 90<\/a>. \u201cHigher optimism was associated with longer life span and a greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity overall,\u201d the researchers conclude.<\/p>\n In an enlightening study of how Americans perceive the second half of their lives, AARP and National Geographic surveyed 2,580 adults aged 18 and older, and about two in three of the oldest \u2014 those aged 80 and above \u2014 said they were living their best lives<\/a>. \u201cWhile people recognize some of the challenges that come with aging, many have an optimistic outlook and expect their lives to improve as they grow older,\u201d the researchers say.<\/p>\n More than mere wishful thinking, positive beliefs around aging can extend our lives<\/a> by as much as 7\u00bd years, according to research by Becca Levy, an epidemiologist at Yale University\u2019s School of Public Health. The cumulative effects of an optimistic outlook even outweigh the steps we take to exercise, lower our blood pressure and cholesterol, and watch our weight \u2014 possibly because those who take a sanguine approach to life are twice as likely as pessimists to eat healthily, refrain from smoking, and go easy on the booze.<\/p>\n And perhaps not coincidentally, cheery seniors enjoy more friendships, visits, and offers of help than grouchy ones, extending life and enhancing its meaning and quality. \u201cThe way in which individuals view their own aging affects their functional health,\u201d Levy\u2019s team concludes. \u201cThose with more positive self-perceptions of aging \u2026 have better functional health over time.\u201d<\/p>\n Belief, too, enhances the length and quality of our lives.<\/p>\n Ask the world\u2019s currently oldest living man the secret to his staying power, and 114-year-old Juan Vicente P\u00e9rez Mora of Venezuela is quick to answer: \u201cLove God and always carry him in your heart.\u201d Japan\u2019s Kane Tanaka, who died in 2022 as the world\u2019s then-oldest living person<\/a>, voiced similar sentiments over her 119 years and 107 days, frequently attributing her longevity to her faith.<\/p>\n National Geographic<\/em> and the Blue Zones organization interviewed 263 people aged 100 or older, and all but five belonged to a faith community. Subsequent research suggests attending religious services four times a month can add at least four years of extra life span. Researchers at Ohio State University found something similar after analyzing more than 1,000 obituaries to see who listed a religious affiliation; those who did lived 5.64<\/a> years longer on average than those who didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n That squares with the findings of a much larger long-term study suggesting regularly attending religious services can increase life span. A team at Harvard\u2019s T.H. Chan School of Public Health examined data collected over a 20-year period from nearly 75,000 middle-aged female nurses who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer when the study began. Regardless of race or ethnicity, those who attended a temple, synagogue, mosque, or church at least once a week<\/a> had a 33 percent diminished risk of death from all causes \u2014 but especially heart attack, stroke, and cancer \u2014 compared to those who never went.<\/p>\n \u201cReligion and spirituality may be an underappreciated resource that physicians could explore with their patients,\u201d the researchers say. The \u201cwhys\u201d remain elusive, though some scientists think abstinence from drugs and alcohol \u2014 common to many faiths \u2014 may help explain the benefits and stress-relieving power of prayer and meditation and the life-enhancing sense of community and belonging.<\/p>\n Famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall, whom I interviewed for THE BIG 100, sees no conflict in embracing both belief and positivity<\/a>. Powered by both, she tells me she\u2019s never worked harder or with a greater purpose than she is now at age 89.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have more stamina now than I had when I was 30,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we lose hope, that\u2019s the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Ideas to optimize our chances of living to 100 in good health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181,182],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winter-2024","category-winter-2024-features"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14499"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14841,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14499\/revisions\/14841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Veteran journalist William J. Kole<\/a>, a 2022 fellow in aging journalism at Columbia University and the National Press Foundation, is the author of THE BIG 100: The New World of Super-Aging<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"