6 Things Longevity Experts Personally Never Do

Aging is an uncomfortable topic for people, especially for those 60 and over. But just because people try to avoid talking about it doesn’t mean that aging will not happen. Dr. Joshua Septimus, a primary care doctor at Houston Methodist Primary Care Group in Texas, put it this way, “We’re all going to age, and we’re all going to die.”

Regardless of the anti-aging supplements and treatments promoted on social media platforms, not one product can keep you from growing older, Dr. Septimus told HuffPost. This is why health experts stress the importance of developing habits that will help you live a long, healthy life rather than relying on passing fads.

“It’s not just adding years to your life, but adding life to your years,” Dr. Aileen Pangilinan, a geriatrician at the UConn Center on Aging in Farmington, Connecticut, told HuffPost.

So, how do you develop habits that allow you to increase your lifespan and continue pursuing the things that you enjoy? Doctors suggest avoiding some of the most common mistakes people make as they get older. Here are six things doctors shared with HuffPost that they will never do for the sake of healthy aging:

1. Never underestimate the importance of exercise

It’s never too late to start exercising but the sooner you start the better, according to Dr. Pangilinan.

“In geriatrics…there’s nothing that I prescribe more commonly than exercise,” Dr. Pangilinan said. “I’ve seen how much exercise has done to our older adults who have aged gracefully compared to those that have not…At this age, where you’re pulled in so many directions, you have to find time for yourself to exercise.”

Exercise is vital to healthy aging because it helps to maintain muscle mass, strength, and physical function. Physical activity also aids in avoiding disease as you age. Whether it’s walking, running, swimming, dancing, or biking, you can choose the activity that you enjoy the most as long as it keeps you moving.

Staying active is a way to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, which is pretty easy to get into, especially if you sit a lot at work, according to Dr. Michael Danielewicz, Director of Pride Care at the Jefferson Center for Healthy Aging in Philadelphia. Dr. Danielewicz suggests people who do not really move around a lot on their job plan “for structured exercise, whether that’s a brisk walk or a jog or running a 10 miler.”

Dr. Pangilinan recommends prioritizing aerobic exercise. However, start slow; don’t try to do all your exercises at once.

“The goal is 150 minutes a week that is broken down to 30 minutes a day for five days a week,” Dr. Pangilinan said. “And…that’s the goal, you don’t jump from zero to that goal in one day. We always recommend to try to increase slowly toward that target.”

2. Never underestimate the importance of strength training

To gain additional benefits from exercising, older adults should add strength training to their exercise routine. Strength training, also known as resistance training, builds lean muscle mass and increases muscular strength and endurance. Dr. Septimus said it’s never too late to start strength training because lean muscle mass decreases during aging.

So, the more muscle mass older adults can build, the more they can reduce their risk of falling. Dr. Septimus said falls are the biggest fear he has for his patients once they reach their 70s.

Some examples of strength training include using resistance bands, free weights, or weight machines, or doing yoga, Pilates, or CrossFit, or doing push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. The type of strength training you do will depend on your age, abilities, and what you enjoy doing regularly. Dr. Septimus advises people of all ages to do strength training twice a week for 30 minutes.

“The opportunity for strength training is limitless, you just have to be willing to engage, and often you have to find an expert who can instruct you into how to safely do it,” Dr. Septimus said.

3. Never isolate themselves

It’s a well-known fact that social isolation can affect a person’s mental and physical health, well-being, and longevity. However, Dr. Danielewicz said he does not directly tell his patients “not to isolate themselves” because sometimes circumstances that can cause isolation are out of their control. For instance, adults can lose their family members or social circles for various reasons, such as death or chronic illness.

Dr. Danielewicz instead urges people to participate in events at their local senior center, attend community meetings, get involved in their local government, meet with family and friends, join—or even start—a book club or simply call their adult children on the phone.

“That can be a good way to keep people engaged with other people, [keep their] minds sharp and to keep them from prematurely aging,” he said.

4. Never miss their cancer screenings

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States, which is why it’s essential to keep current with breast, prostate, cervical, colon, prostate, and lung cancer screenings. You can talk to your doctor about what preventative tests you need and how often you should get them.

5. Never use tobacco or drink too much alcohol

Alcohol consumption is associated with various health risks, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To promote longevity, the less you drink, the better. But moderation is key.

The CDC says drinking in moderation means two drinks a day for men and one drink a day for women. However, even this might be too much, particularly for older adults with diabetes, hypertension, cognitive impairments, and other health issues.

Besides alcohol, tobacco can also impact longevity

“We know that tobacco both prematurely ages folks on a physical level and on a cognitive level, so I encourage folks that if they do smoke or use tobacco products, that they really work with their providers, work with their support network to try to quit—understanding that’s really difficult to do,” Dr. Danielewicz said.

6. Never stop challenging their brain

Trying new things and keeping your mind engaged contributes to longevity, but it’s very easy for people of all ages to go through their day without doing something to keep their brains stimulated, Dr. Danielewicz said.

“Mental stimulation looks different for every single person…whether it’s reading a new book, engaging in some kind of civil discourse… being active in the community or, yes, doing puzzles, playing games, even sometimes video games,” he said.

While maintaining social connections, exercising, and getting health screenings sound simple, real life gets in the way of doing these things at times. The pressures of daily life can lead people to adopt unhealthy habits while neglecting those that promote longevity.

“We’re all human,” Dr. Danielewicz said. But, he added, there is no need to feel guilty for not keeping up all these habits; instead, understand that it is never too late to start again.

Source Links:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/older-adults-elderly-geriatric-doctors_l_66e47ef9e4b0056e82921dac?ncid=APPLENEWS00001
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/about-alcohol-use/moderate-alcohol-use.html