Resiliency Tips From The 100+ Crowd

With so many tragic deaths in Hollywood the past few months, Billy Joel's song, "Only the Good Die Young" never seemed more poignant. Watching Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett lose their public battles with cancer makes me wonder - what is the secret to living a long life? What are the tricks from those who beat Father Time at his own game? This week I decided to explore the "centenarians" - people living to be over 100 years old, for clues to resiliency and joie de vivre. Last week, the world's oldest living person, Gertrude Baines, died in Los Angeles, at age 115. She was a lesson in resiliency, and should be considered a national treasure.

Baines was born in 1894, and grew up in Georgia- the daughter of a slave, and lived under Grover Cleveland's administration, and Jim Crow segregation laws. I am sure she has seen hardships that make the recession and the health care debate look like a walk in the park. She received her 15 minutes of fame when she voted for Barack Obama for president. On her 115th birthday, her greatest health complaint was some arthritis in her left knee.

While her story is amazing, Gertrude's status as "supercentenarian"- being over 110, is going to become more and more common, as living to be 100+ is not longer reserved for the select few. With our medical advances, the number of centenarians is expected to reach the one million mark by 2030. 85% of our centenarians are women, and 15% are men.

According to the New Scientist, those who break through the barrier of age 90 are the "physically elite." They somehow escape a full range of diseases that kill off their peers, and enjoy relatively good health. Only 4 per cent of centenarians die of cancer, compared with 40 per cent of people that die in their fifties and sixties. Curiously, centenarians have remarkably low rates of Alzheimer's.

Supercentenarians - people like Gertrude Baines, who are aged 110 or over - are even better examples of aging gracefully.

"As a demographic group, they basically didn't exist in the 1970s or 80s," says Craig Willcox of the Okinawa Centenarian Study in Japan. "They have some sort of genetic booster rocket and they seem to be functioning better for longer periods of time than centenarians."

A comprehensive study of those born in 1905 who are still alive, showed over one third of them were entirely self sufficient. The New England Centenarian Study (NECS) showed that even the supercentenarians - 40% of them, are able to look after themselves even after age 110. Clearly with so many "eldest of the old" managing on their own for nearly a century, one of the keys to resiliency is independence.

Gerontologists point to four key factors for living a long life: diet, exercise, "psycho-spiritual" and social as key elements to survival. Thomas Perls, who heads the NECS, believes that up to 70 per cent of longevity is due to non-genetic factors (New Scientist, 3 June 2006, p 35). The old fashioned ways; simple foods, faith in a higher power, and close friends, will take us a lot farther down the road than promotions at work.

According to the National Centenarian Awareness project: resilient Centenarians are known to have positive attitudes, an adventurous love of life, strong will, a keen sense of humor and an ability to renegotiate life when necessary. It is not enough to rely on good genes, or good circumstances, to enjoy a long and happy life. Often these elders withstood tremendous adversity, and learned positive coping skills that set them apart from the rest.

Here are a few "Resiliency Tips" for any age:

* Never Stop Learning and Growing - - engage the mind by reading books, doing the NYTimes crossword puzzle or make a goal to learn a new hobby every year. Life long learning is one of the highest valued elements of resilient people.

* Eat the Old Fashioned Way- very few, if any centenarians were ever obese, and most are accustomed to hard physical activity. Eat foods that are unprocessed as much as possible.

* Be a Doer and not a Complainer- Help a friend, take that class, and take small steps forward every day to manage a challenge. That stubborn attitude keeps the dangerous tide pool of complacency at bay.

* Simple Pleasures- Hobbies are not just moments of wasted time - leisure is vital to our health. Whether it is woodworking, knitting or bird-watching, the simple pleasures is time well spent.

* Well, Um, Sex!- My father-in-law is 101. One of his only medical maladies is a benign condition that makes his hands shake- making it difficult to hold a cup or small objects. When offered medication to help correct this problem, his doctor explained the usual list of side effects. One of them was erectile dysfunction. Needless to say, he refused the medication - and my 87 year-old-mother-in-law nodded her head in absolute agreement. An active sex life is a blessing and a gift you can take to the grave, baby.

Do you have any "wise elders" in your life, or know any centenarians? What are their special qualities that contribute to their longevity? Love to hear your stories. Feel free to click on the "Become a Fan" to receive weekly updates of this column, and you can follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

 

 

Follow Kari Henley on Twitter: www.twitter.com/karihenley

Comments

[SaltySaltillo]

Well, I suppose these tips indicate what those who live a long time have in common. But don't a lot of people who don't have the good fortune of living long lives also share these qualities? Of course, this isn't going to stop me from taking all of this advice to heart. I only hope that with modern society the way it is, we all have the good fortune of enjoying long, rich lives like the ones described here.

[Aesthete]

My maternal great-grandmother who lived to the age of 109, was born into slavery in 1847, lived through reconstruction, World Wars I and II, and saw a great deal of American history unfold before her eyes. She outlived two husbands and most of her children. She was the multi-racial offspring of a slave owner and a female slave. It still baffles me how she managed to live such a long and healthy life in the face of overwhelming odds when subsequent generations of her family have not fared as well. A similar pattern exists for my father's side of the family as well. My paternal great-grandmother, also born a slave, delivered her own children alone and never saw a doctor in her entire life except for the one that pronounced her dead when she was well past her 100th birthday. Both of these women did something right. We have yet to discover their secret.

[Kari Henley - Huffpost Blogger]

Wow!
What fantastic stories!
Tremendous good fortune to you for sharing two family lines with such great health.
It is amazing to me as well that those who underwent such adversity managed to live such long lives. My father in law is a holocaust surivivor, and every day is another gift.
Thanks for writing in!
Kari

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Kari- I patiently wait each wek for your blog I love your energy and wisdom.

love them all

My mother-in-law is wiser than anyone I have met. She is a brilliant author, Buddhist scholar and wrote

ZEN DIRECT POINTING TO REALITY and other books

In Joy,

Ed

[Kari Henley - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Ed and Deb!
Thank you so much for the support and insights. I think I missed you guys last week! Have to double check the "Fan" button.
I can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up with a mum who was a buddhist scholar. Wow. Lucky Deb- and lucky you!

Those monks must be on to something with the incredible longevity they often share.
Much Love
Kari

[Nekhbet]

"Faith in a higher power?" Ahem.
No mention of that in any studies I've read. How would gullibility to fairy tales help longevity? Unless Ms. Henley can point to scientific tests that compare longevity of believers vs nonbelievers, this is just a little scrap of nonsense thrown in that indicates her own world view.

[absinthe]

I'm with you on this, Nekhbet... If "faith" is going to be injected into this discussion, I'd like to see it more fully discussed and less arbitrarily declared.

[Dr. Judith Rich - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Kari,

I thought about this subject a few weeks ago when I wrote a post called "Would You Want To Live To Be 100?" It's expected that more and more of us can expect to live to such a ripe old age. It's actually a bit of a a scary thought, I think. Where are we going to put everyone?

Meanwhile, 3 cheers to your father-in-law for keeping his mojo going. Maybe he should write a book!

I love your resiliency tips whether I make it to 100 or not. Good advice!

Thanks for another inspiring post,
Judith

[TN]

You can bet they get idea's from us.

[Kari Henley - Huffpost Blogger]

Judith!
YES! I had meant to include a link to your piece- which is an Excellent companion to this!
Where ARE we going to put everyone? Improved elder care has to become a higher priority for sure.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kari

[Adia Colar - Huffpost Blogger]

Every time I see the picture of Gertrude Baines, I smile because she looks similar to my great-grandma. "Lil Mama" was born in 1895 and died in 2003. She had a long, wonderful life, and these are some of the things I remember about her:

- she had a constant - dare I say, sometimes twisted - sense of humor
- she was always laughing, and often playing practical jokes on her great-great(-great) grandchildren who were 100 years younger than her
- she loved life
- she loved her family
- every day she smoked her pipe and read the Bible (not necessarily in that order)
- she forgave way more than would have ever been expected
- she was as self-sufficient as could be; she walked without any aid until she broke her hip at age 106
- she was loved beyond belief

She lived until 108 and the day she passed, said to my great-aunt, "I'm tired. I'm going to go lie down," and never got up. I love her, but I know she had a very full life. The way I try to honor her is by keeping her memory alive and incorporating some of her traits into my life.

Thanks for the piece, Kari.

[Kari Henley - Huffpost Blogger]

Amazing. We are amazed at 101 with my father in law, and 108 is just incredible. I love the mischeviousness. My grandparents are the same way.
Somehow many of us have lost that skill!
I appreciate you writing in!
Kari

[amyhasopinions]

A wise master of Tai Chi once told a friend of mine that our bodies are genetically programmed to live to 120. What kills us is our mental attitudes and poor lifestyle choices. People under the age of 100 (ie, those in the 80-99 range) who die of "old age" aren't actually all that old; they're just succumbing to whatever physical symptoms have caught up with them finally.

Most of what he shared with her is reflected in this article: eat well, be active, use your mind, be careful of your thoughts and words and deeds--you'll receive back what you give. :-)

[Anne Naylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Kari,

Love your post! My Dad at 90 is pretty amazing. He still grows vegetables and fruit in his allotment. He reads all the time. He takes a great interest in people and is very social People love him. He loves his food and eats well. He has a few things to say about the Labour government in England. He is a true gentleman.

Thank you for those excellent tips - it is really good to be reminded. There is a lot we can do to choose the life we lead - at any age.

With love,
Anne

[Kari Henley - Huffpost Blogger]

A 90 year old gardener is inspiring indeed!
I love your article (nice to be neighbors this week!) and if we can stand up for peace, we can stand up for our elders too. Living such a long life has incredible stories to share with our youth,and it would be nice to find more ways to put them together.
Thanks for writing
Kari

[lightoftruth2]

Patrick Swayze and Farrah Fawcett likely died of genetic defects making them susceptible to cancer...no amount of positive-thinking or "lifestyle­-improveme­nt" changed that for them or for the millions of others who died of cancer. You correctly point out that cancer rates are lower in the oldest-old than in people in their 50s-60s: because those people in their 50s-60s that were susceptible to cancer had died long ago.

By the way, Gertrude Baines was born and raised in Georgia, NOT Alabama.

[2012isnear]

Not sure that it is proven beyond any ounce of doubt that people die of cancer as a result of genetic defects. Positive thinking alone could "possibly" counter any such genetic defect.

Long life :)

[balancedsolution]

If only the good die young

what did these people do?