8 Choices That Will Add 24 Years to Your Lifespan (& Have More Fun Too!)

8 choices to increase your lifespanSeveral years ago, I had the great honor of interviewing Dr. Craig Venter at a leadership breakfast event I was hosting. If that name rings a bell, he is best known for co-mapping the human genome! 

Gotta say it was a fascinating conversation for so many reasons. One of my biggest takeaways was this … we are within one to two generations of reaching the point where we ourselves will choose how long we wish to live!

Imagine the retirement planning required for that!

I bring this up because several months ago, we were looking into lifespan with regard to retirement planning. One of the top worries of retirees is outliving their money and income. 

Of course, we can mitigate some of this worry through smart portfolio management techniques. We can use investment platforms like Beacon Capital that provide a built-in stop-loss, as well as the purchase of certain types of annuities. But income streams we can’t outlive is a topic for another month! 

We humans just keep living longer! As the saying goes, “The longer you live … the longer you live!” And, with respect to Dr. Venter, we can choose to live longer by adopting specific habits.

So rather than focusing on good financial habits (since we tend to cover something on that topic each month of the year), may I respectfully challenge each of us to adopt three new habits that are good for our lifespans and healthspans (the number of healthy years we have in our lifetimes) for the new year … Imagine That™!

8 Habits to Adopt for Adding 23-24 Years to Your Lifespan

Medical News Today came out with this great article that we wanted to share eight habits to adopt to add a quarter century to your lifespan! Men with these habits lived 24 years longer, and women lived 23 years longer than their respective counterparts.

The study also found that you’ll still add years even if you only use or implement a few of these habits. It’s okay not to be perfect! (And, you can tell your spouse that I said that! And, especially, your mother-in-law!) 

The habits are: 

Being Physically Active

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends 150 “heart points” for each week. You get one heart point for every minute your heart is in an aerobic state. I don’t think watching scary movies counts, but you could always email them and ask. For more information on getting active, here’s the AHA’s guide

That works out to three or four days a week of moderate to advanced aerobic exercise. If you want to get fancy and track it, that should be about 60% of your target heart rate. Since the AHA can explain it better, here’s a link on how to calculate that

Managing Stress

Did you know there is actually such a thing as good stress? Good stress comes from factors like working out (stress on your muscles and tissues makes them stronger) or rising to new challenges (a new career opportunity, passing exams, or starting new hobbies.) 

Dr. Hans Selye first came up with the idea of “stress” as an “underpinning” medical condition. He also divided stress into two categories: eustress and distress. If you remember back to your Latin (or if you skipped it entirely) eu- is a positive prefix to a word, and dis- adds a negative property to a word: so good stress and bad stress.

But to manage the bad stress, the AHA once again has some great techniques, which you can check out on that link.  

Maintaining a Good Diet

The real question here is, “What does a good diet even look like?” Advice on what you are or are not supposed to eat seems to change every decade or so. But it’s good that medical science keeps advancing and making new discoveries. (But I don’t think a double Whopper with cheese is ever going to make the healthy diet list. Sorry. How disappointing!)

There’s no such thing as a perfect diet, but staying up to date with recent medical science can help us stay aware of dietary best practices. 

The American Heart Association has a great guide on eating smart, which helps cut through a lot of sensational diet media out there. 

Maintaining Good “Sleep Hygiene”

Sleep hygiene is not changing the sheets before they change color … although that’s also a good idea! It’s about getting good quality sleep and enough of it. 

Sometimes, there isn’t much choice when you have to stay up until the wee hours to finish deadlines. We’ve all been there. The key is not to make a habit out of it. For me, often, it is the result of not planning my time better … practicing my Duolingo Spanish longer than I should, or not getting my dental hygiene out of the way right after dinner. There are always ways we can improve our evening efficiencies to make going to bed at a reasonable hour a happy discipline. 

Here is more on getting good sleep again from our good friends at the AHA.

Maintaining Positive Social Relationships

Whether you’re a raving extrovert or quietly slip off from large groups to read in a corner, the truth is that humankind was made for connection. We all need positive social relationships for personal growth as well as good health. Even for you rugged individualists out there, isolation is not a healthy option. 

Avoiding Regular Excessive Consumption of Alcohol

I’m not one to turn away from a chilled moscato every once in a while. But unfortunately, doctors think low to moderate consumption of alcohol is best, if any at all. As my dear late mother always liked to say, “Moderation in everything, dear, except for love!” Awwww … thanks, Mom! 

Not Smoking

We’ve all seen the commercials, the articles, and media about how smoking causes all sorts of bodily disasters that can cut your life short or even make the quality of life a struggle. Need we say more?????

Not Developing an Opioid Addiction

This falls under the “Duh” category to my way of thinking. If you haven’t developed an opioid addiction, don’t start! It’s a struggle for your body to handle.

There are increasingly many good options and resources out there to help folks who struggle with opioids. Opioid addiction not only damages a person’s body but their family relationships and finances, too.

Here’s the number for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357.

But What's Your "Why" for Living Longer?

I decided several decades ago that I want to live to ring in the year 2100. That means I need to live to age 147! Almost halfway there!

This goal led me to spend time thinking about my habits. What am I eating? Does this harm or help me in reaching that goal? Over time, it has positively changed the way I eat. The same thing is true with exercise … maintaining a positive mental attitude … reading uplifting books … deepening my personal spiritual faith, and so forth. (We won’t talk about sleep! LOL. Still an area of improvement needed for me personally.)

Focusing on a lifetime goal of reaching age 147 in robust health has definitely changed or reinforced certain positive habits for me. And now, we’re in the time of year when reflection and setting goals is almost upon us. 

It’s fair to say that most people have noticed in New Year’s Resolutions of years past that changing habits can be awfully challenging.

So, in addition to challenging each of us to pick three positive changes and implement them for the new year, may I recommend some of my favorite books (with contributions from our WLG Tribe) that I read throughout last year – many of which are on setting goals and habits.

First, on goal setting is Michael Hyatt’s revised edition of “Your Best Year Ever.” He’s the guy to whom I should be giving credit every time I bring up SMARTER goals.

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Actionable
  • Risky
  • Time-Bound
  • Exciting
  • Relevant

Hyatt recommends no more than 7-10 goals for the year, with a maximum of three important goals per 90-day “sprints.” Setting goals using an entire year as the reference point allows us to “cheat” and think, “I will get after that goal in December – of next year!” Oh, and by the way … a goal list of 27 items is just waaaaaaaaaay too much. :^) 

For more specifics, here is a link to January of 2023’s newsletter on SMARTER Goals

In conclusion, what would you do with another 23-24 years to live? How would you fill it up with positive outcomes? What habits will you start – stop – increase – reduce – to make them healthy, happy, and significant? … Imagine That™!

P.S.

Other books you might be interested in are listed below. And I’d love to hear from you about what you read this last year that you would recommend!

  • The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, MD
  • Outlive by Peter Attia, MD
  • Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
  • Path of the Assassin by Brad Thor (pure fun)
  • The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (don’t let the title fool you! Terrific book!)
  • Performing Under Pressure by Hendrie Weisinger & J. P. Pawliw-Fry
  • Dream Big by Bob Goth
  • Millionaire Success Habits by Dean Graziosi
  • The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
  • Your Best Us by Ted Lowe
  • What Retirees Want by Ken Dychtwald

Imagine That! is a complimentary monthly newsletter provided by Wealth Legacy Group®, Inc. that addresses various topics of interest for high-net-worth and high-income business owners, professionals, executives and their families. Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter here.

R. J. Kelly, Wealth Legacy Group®, Inc. – December 2023

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