How to live to 100
5 common traits of centenarians
👋Hey there, friends. Here's what I've got for you today:
5 common traits of centenarians - Want to live longer? Take a page from the book of those who have done it.
An update on a challenge I'm currently 2/3 of the way through.
Some really awesome content that I'm psyched to share with you.
Let's get going...
5 Common Traits of Centenarians
Good news. I've been bingeing content on how to extend the human lifespan (and, as importantly, the human “health span”) so that you don't have to.
If you're like me, and one of your goals is to live a long and healthy life, there are a few habits and behaviors well within your control that are about the closest things to a "fountain of youth" that science has uncovered to date. Much of the research in this area stems from observations of those who have managed to live past age 100, and done so in a way that has allowed them to retain mobility and an acute mind. No small feat into one's triple digits! Here is my attempt to make these 5 common traits of centenarians as easily understandable and actionable as possible. Presented in no particular order...
Diet - It will come as no surprise that the food and drink we put into our bodies is a major driver of the length and quality of our lives. But is there a magic diet or supplement that is the key to longevity? As much as I am always trying the find it, the answer is probably 'no', at least not in isolation. It's well-documented that long-lived populations tend to cluster in areas—so-called “blue zones”—including in places like Greece where a more traditional Mediterranean diet is common, and parts of Japan where rice is more of a common staple. So it doesn't appear that any one diet is the end all and be all to human longevity. There are some commonalities, however, which tend to be seen across these populations, including:
Processed foods are minimal - whether it is due to a lack of access or to cultural norms, in places where highly processed foods are less common, people tend to live longer. Instead, these populations tend to over-index on simple, nutrient-dense foods and dishes with relatively few ingredients. These populations also have a higher tendency to eat the same core staple foods day-in and day-out and to consume foods that are “in season.”
Vegetarianism is common - As someone who is not a vegetarian, this stood out to me. I am a big proponent of getting enough protein in my diet and one of the easiest ways I can do that is through meat consumption. But I know there are downsides to meat consumption, both moral and physical—including some evidence of increased cancer risk—especially from the consumption of lower-quality, highly processed meats. To me, it was striking in the interviews and research that I looked at just how common vegetarianism was in those that make it to 100 as well as the almost universal consumption of legumes (bean, lentils, etc.) as a staple in diets. Where I land on this today, mostly in an effort not to drive my wife crazy with further restrictions, is to go meat-free two meals per day and then consume meat at dinner. But as the evidence mounts up in favor of vegetarianism, it's something I might consider long-term.
Everything in moderation - Unsurprisingly, it's not common to see a lot of binge drinkers or binge eaters that make it to 100. You don't tend to see a lot of obese centenarians, do you? There's a reason for that. But everyone who makes it to 100 also doesn't do it on water and celery sticks alone. They do, however, tend to have a lower caloric intake than the broader population (think: smaller portion sizes and/or fasting as a cultural or religious norm as examples). And when it comes to alcohol, while the "red wine is good for you" myth has been firmly debunked in recent years, it appears that you don't need to completely abstain from alcohol to live past 100. That said, it is notable that regular alcohol consumption is the exception rather than the rule for those whole live healthy lives into the triple digits. As Andrew Huberman recently said, the optimal amount of alcohol consumption for maximum health benefit is exactly zero. I'll be writing (and recording) a whole lot more on this topic in the coming months as I'm becoming a bit of an alcohol-free evangelist these days. (Pretty fun at a party, I know!).
Movement - The next common trait among centenarians is that they have largely lived a life of movement. We tend to get so focused on doing the latest HIIT class, clicking in for an intense Peloton ride, or lacing up the shoes for a marathon training session. And while those are all great, the evidence shows that what has actually tended to work for those who have lived long, healthy lives is more straightforward: They simply tend to walk more. And more specifically, they tend to live in communities where walking is the most common mode of transportation—usually where cars are not required to get around day to day. As I've written before, it's almost scary how much our environments shape us. This works positively and negatively. On the negative side, if you live somewhere where you have to drive to get to a store or to work or school (like most of us do!), you have to work harder to get in your daily movement. Alternatively, if you live in a walkable community, your movement is naturally built in. It's why so many people gain weight as soon as they move out of big cities like New York—you never realize how much walking you're doing until... you're not doing it anymore. For the vast majority of us living in car-dependent locations, there are some small changes we can make to increase our daily movement:
Track it - I try to get 10,000 steps per day. And by adding the Steps App to the face of my Apple Watch, I am constantly reminded of where I am for the day. What gets measured gets done.
Walk if you can. - I don't live in a particularly walkable location but I am a mile or so from several stores, restaurants and doctors offices. Last week, I walked to the dentist. What would have been a 3-minute drive was about a 20-minute walk. And it was great. Even if I have to walk back tomorrow to get a crown. Ugh. Dentistry is racket.
Look for times to 'sneak in' movement - Scientifically speaking, walking after a meal aids with digestion and helps with alertness. Can you sneak in a walk after lunch at work? Make it a habit to walk with the family after dinner? What about those work calls? Do you need to be at a desk for all of them or can you walk 2 miles during a 30-minute call? It's incredible how sedentary we can be if our lives are not designed around movement. One of the best things we can do for our physical health, mental health, and it turns out, longevity, is to insert more movement into our routines.
Purpose - Another common trait among those achieving longevity is feeling a sense of purpose—either working on something that is (internally deemed) to be important or dedicating one's life to a cause that this bigger than one's self. An obvious place many look here is to religion. And that makes sense—believing in something bigger than yourself and seeing your life as being in service to God checks that box.
But not all of those getting to 100 or beyond are religious. Others find purpose elsewhere. It may be a lifelong goal or passion. It may be the pursuit of some legacy. But it almost always finds its way around to service to others. We humans long to be useful. We're wired to want to add value back to the tribe. And when we lose that sense that we can add value, we also lose purpose. And that's dangerous. It's why the first year of retirement is the most common time to fall into depression. If you suddenly go from a life where you feel that you are adding value on a daily basis, to one where you are not, it's natural to feel lost or rudderless. And it’s not just mental. Our minds and our bodies are connected in ways that we are only just beginning to understand. We know that our minds need purpose, but our bodies do, too, and they take the cue from our minds as to what level of health and mobility is necessary. In other words, to stay healthy, we need to keep moving, mentally and physically. And the best way to do that is to be in pursuit of something bigger than ourselves. To be working everyday to improve the lives of others. If we feel useful, our bodies will adapt so that we can stay that way for a long time.
Community - Speaking of our minds, it's clear that psychological health is an important foundation of longevity. And one of the things that nurtures our mental state of well-being most is our connection with others. Looking again at populations around the world where longevity is common, we see that human connection is very often built into the lifestyle. It's the old men playing chess together every morning at the coffee shop in Greece, or the common practice of multi-generational living in parts of Japan. The conditions are set for deep, meaningful connection.
Many of us look first for connection with a spouse or partner, and that is important. Research shows that being married is highly correlated with longer lifespans. But it goes beyond marriage. For those who make it to 100 and beyond, they rarely do so alone. They are connected, often in deep ways, to the community around them. In other words, they have friends, or at least other human beings who they hold near and dear and connect regularly with in honest and open ways. This is the original form of therapy. Being able to complain to your friend. To share your worries or fears. To sympathize with theirs, and to share in their joy, too. This goes hand-in-hand with purpose. If we are reliably there for our friends, we feel that we are adding value, that we are serving a purpose. And the deeper the connection, the better. This is easier for women, who are more apt to let their guard down and seek emotional support from friends. With men it tends to be more difficult—probably due to a combination of societal norms and an instinct to be seen as strong—but it's just as important for men to make these connections. The more we can connect on a "real" level, the better it is for our psychological health. And that's important… so important it turns out, that our lives may depend on it.
Rest - Last but not least is rest. Those that make it to 100 tend to have figured out how to relax. And this takes several forms. One form is attaining an overall sense of calm or peace with their lives. Often this stems from having figured out their priorities earlier in life (which can be closely tied with the purpose and community points made above). It's also from gaining an understanding that things like money, jobs and possessions aren't life or death—and aren't even what make us happy. So there is a restful sense of calm that comes from avoiding the constant stressors that the pursuit of these things can put on us.
Many have also cultivated a sense of calm through other means—the most common being meditation or prayer. If we can learn to calm our minds, and make it a regular practice, the benefits to our overall health can be immense. (Pro-tip: Watching less cable news will also instantly double your sense of calm. Yes, there are lots of bad things happening in the world. But YOU don't need to be worrying about all of them.) There is also a form of rest that comes from specifically setting up one's life in a way with natural breaks built in (think: Europeans’ tendency toward long summer holidays). These chances to step away, to gain perspective and to smell the metaphorical roses tend to be regenerative.
And finally, there is the most important form of rest: sleep. If I've become convinced of any one thing as a "magic elixir" or "cure-all" in recent years, it is sleep. If we have any hope of achieving anything even approaching longevity, we must figure out how to get deep, restorative sleep. This is very possible—even for those who have struggled in the past—including me. I highly recommend the work of Andrew Huberman and others for specific tactics but I've personally found a tremendous amount of success with sleep by:
avoiding caffeine after noon
exercising daily
& keeping the same bed and wake times 7 days/week .
If you don't sleep well or rely on sleeping pills or other sleeping aids, the reality is that you are inviting physical diseases like cancer or mental ones like dementia. Deep, restorative sleep is priority number, in my opinion, for achieving long-term health. If you need further resources on this, reach out to me and I'll pass some along. I feel super strongly about this and want to help anyone who needs it.
So that's it. Want to live to 100? Like most hard things in life, it’s simple but not easy.
I appreciate you reading this and my hope is that there are one or two things in here that might inspire you to make a small (but potentially impactful) change in your own life.
And I'll look forward to celebrating that 100 mark with you someday over an ice-cold (non-alcoholic) beer.
100 Push-Up Challenge
(31 days, 100 push-ups per day)
If you know me, you know I love a good streak. And I'm on one at the moment. I am attempting to do 100 push-ups per day for 31 days in a row (the full month of October). So far, so good. Today is Day 23. And fortunately, I roped in my buddy, Brian, to do it with me. It's the first time I've really had an "accountability partner" for something like this and it's been great. We text each other our push-up counts & times every morning. Good to have the support and also the reminder not to forget to do the push-ups. When I first started on Oct 1st, I could do 100 push-ups in about 10 minutes. Now, I'm close to breaking the 6-minute mark but still looking to get that time down. You can follow my progress here on Twitter where I post my daily sets and times. Let me know if you've got any good ideas for other month-long streaks. I love this little motivational tool to keep things fresh and drive progress.
Content Diet
Oh man. I have consumed some amazing content these last few weeks, including much of what inspired the subject of this newsletter. Here are some favorites.
Rich Roll podcast - You already know I love Rich. He’s done some amazing episodes on longevity. Here are two of my favorites:
Dickie Bush’s thread on habits. Dickie is one of my favorite follows on Twitter. 281k others seem to agree with me. His thread on daily habits here is aligned in more ways than one with the common traits of centenarians discussed above. Worth your time to check it out:
Banana Man - I have to finish with a random one. You know the list of my favorite 15 non-fiction books that I put out recently? Well, add a new one to the list. The Fish That Ate the Whale is the incredible story of Samuel ZeMurray, a poor Jewish immigrant who became the most powerful man you’ve never heard of in 20th century America. An amazing story of the rise and fall of the banana business in the late-1800s and early-1900s and how one man (and his company) became so powerful that he directly controlled multiple Central American countries and was even pivotal in the formation of the state of Israel. Learned so much in this one. Am now on to Isaacson’s Ben Franklin biography. Will report back…
That’s it for this week. I appreciate you reading. Know someone who might like to read Intentional Wisdom? Please pass it along! Really appreciate the word of mouth.
See you in two weeks!
— Greg