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Body of Evidence: Living
Longer Better
You don't have to be
a world-renowned
ballerina to live to
100, but it might give
you a leg up. From
simple stretching to
mountain dwelling, here
are seven factors proven
to add years to life.
Wendy Whelan
Profession: Principal
dancer, New Your City
Ballet
Wendy Whelan, a star of
the NYCB since 1991, has
thought a lot about
longevity. She knows that
dancers don't dance
forever. "Will I dance
after I quit dancing?" she
asks ahead of the
question. "Absolutely. I
feel depressed if I stop
dancing. I actually get
more injuries when I'm
dancing less." Moving, she
insists, "opens me up
physically and mentally."
She's been dancing since
age 3; her mother, a phys
ed teacher, thought it
would absorb her
daughter's surplus energy.
"Dancing is more mental
than I thought," she
confides. "You have to
deal with nerves and
egos—my own and others'."
Long
lauded for her elegant yet
exquisitely precise
physicality as a dancer,
Whelan's performances
noticeably deepened a few
years ago. Sidelined for a
few months with her first
injury, she grappled with
perfection and
vulnerability. "I forgave
things. I got more
peaceful." When she came
back, the music sounded
different, the steps felt
different. She felt more
connected to everything.
"I realized nothing is
perfect and I became more
grateful for what was
there," she says. "I found
the beauty of
imperfection. A wise woman
once told me that the only
perfect thing in life is
perfectly dead. My art
form celebrates being
alive."
Walking and Stretching
More than your actual
health status,
maintaining physical
activity as you
age—whether taking a
stroll, dancing, or
working in the
garden—adds years to
your life, even if you
were previously
sedentary. Physical
activity benefits mood
and promotes a sense of
self-efficacy, spurring
you to keep on trucking.
Six months of regular
aerobic exercise also
reverses loss of brain
tissue that occurs with
age.
Speaking in Tongues
Lifelong use of two
languages promotes
longevity by delaying
the onset of dementia by
four years. Bilingualism
enhances brain
vasculature and neural
plasticity. Earlier
studies by the same team
showed that speaking two
languages increases
attention and cognitive
control in kids and
older adults.
Grape Expectations
The phytonutrient
resveratrol in red
grapes and red wine
counters aging the same
way calorie restriction
does. Both activate a
family of enzymes,
sirtuins, that slow the
body's metabolic
machinery and offset the
damage of a high-calorie
diet.
The
High Life
Moving to the mountains,
rather than living in
lowlands, can keep you
going longer, even if
you have high blood
lipids and high blood
pressure. Adaptation to
altitude helps the body
cope with lower levels
of oxygen, and walking
uphill regularly aids
the heart.
Winning a Nobel Prize
Winning the big one—as
opposed to just being
nominated or toiling in
the trenches like
everyone else—adds
nearly two years to the
life span. It's not the
cash that does it; it's
the sheer boost to
status that works "a
kind of health-giving
magic."
A
Supportive Spouse
A
good marriage
counteracts the wear and
tear of life on multiple
body systems.
Good
Friends
Close family ties are
nice, but having a
network of good friends
boosts life span in old
age. Friends keep us
from doing unhealthy
things like smoking, and
nudge us to get medical
help for troubling
symptoms. Feeling
connected has positive
physiologic effects on
many systems,
counteracting stress.
