Brain Scientists Tapping Into Secret of Living Healthier Longer

Health Nature Wellness

I’ve written a number of posts in the past on various ways to live longer. As the number of senior citizens in the United States continues to increase every year, living longer has become a greater concern to a greater number of Americans.

There are many supplements on the market designed to help extend one’s physical and mental health, and I’ve written about some of them. I’ve written about how having a loving a pet, especially a dog, can help extend someone’s health and lifespan. I’ve also written how exercising helps retain mental cognition and is good for extending physical longevity as well. I’ve also written about how social interaction with others also has a positive influence on one’s senior years.

I’m no brain scientist and didn’t think one had to be to realize that when a number of these factors are combined that it will help people live longer and healthier, but a recent report attributes this brilliant deduction to some brain scientists:

Retired state employees Vickey Benford, 63, and Joan Caldwell, 61, are Golden Rollers, a group of the over-50 set that gets out on assorted bikes — including trikes for adults they call “three wheels of awesome” — for an hour of trail riding and camaraderie.

“I love to exercise, and I like to stay fit,” said Caldwell, who tried out a recumbent bike, a low-impact option that can be easier on the back. “It keeps me young.”

Benford encouraged Caldwell to join the organized rides, which have attracted more than 225 riders at city rec centers and senior activity centers. The cyclists can choose from a small, donated fleet of recumbent bikes, tandem recumbents and tricycles.

“With seniors, it’s less about transportation and more about access to the outdoors, social engagement and quality of life,” said Christopher Stanton, whose idea for Golden Rollers grew out of the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, a youth biking nonprofit he founded in 2011.

But that’s not all, according to brain scientists. They point to another important benefit: Exercising both body and brain can help people stay healthier longer.

The new thinking about aging considers not just how long one lives, but how vibrant one stays later in life.

“If you’re living, you want to be living well,” said Tim Peterson, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Most people who were interested in life span and were studying genes — which control life span — switched to ‘healthspan.’” 

When I was younger, the term healthspan just referred to how long someone lives, but that definition is changing in today’s world. It now refers to how long someone lives in generally good health without any chronic physical or mental conditions resulting in a decline of either or both.

Too many people focus on the physical aspect of living longer, but fail to consider the mental or cognitive aspect. They don’t understand that the two are equally important and that they are both vitally interconnected.

As you advance into your senior years, make sure that you take measures to help with your physical and mental health at the same time. Take the example above get out and live longer and healthier.

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