Long and prosperous life paradigm

The key to mastery of life

We should take into consideration that perception of reality is not the problem of the senses, but the interpretation of the sensual experiences. Thus those experiences we filter through our intelligence and wisdom that are in any means not the same. Listen to our body’s wisdom, which express itself through signals of comfort and discomfort. Live in the present, for it is only moment we have, look for the fullness in every moment. Accept what comes to as totally and completely so that you can appreciate it, learn from it, and then let it go. Take time to be silent, to quiet the internal dialogue. We should pay attention to our inner life so that we can be guided be intuition rather than externally imposed interpretation of what is or is not good for us. Abjure own need for external approval. Our goal is to discover infinite worth in ourselves.

"Good interpersonal relationships act as a buffer against stress" [11]. Knowing you have people who support you keeps you healthy, mentally and physically. Chronic stress weakens the immune system and ages cells faster, ultimately shortening life span by 4 to 8 years, according to some experts [12]. However, older person need friends that they can talk to without being judged or criticized. People who consider themselves self-disciplined, organized achievers live longer and have up to an 89% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s than the less conscientious [13,14]. When we’re good at focusing our attention, we use more brain power [15]. About 17% of Americans are flourishers, says experts, they have a positive outlook on life, a sense of purpose and community, and are healthier than "languishers" about 10% of adults who don’t feel good about themselves. Most of us fall somewhere in between. Therefore, we should strive to flourish, to find meaning in our lives," saying some experts [16,17]. "In Sardinia and Okinawa, where people live the longest, hard work is important, but not more so than spending time with family, nurturing spirituality, and doing for others. Further, to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to associate with people who have similar goals, some studies claim [18]. If our closest friends gain weight, our chance of doing the same could increase by 57%, according to some studies [19,17]. One study found that people with more than 12 years of formal education (even if it’s only 1 year of college) live 18 months longer than those with fewer years of schooling. The more education we have, the less likely we are to smoke. In fact, only about 10% of adults with an undergraduate degree smoke, compared with 35% of those with a high school education or less, according to the [20].

It's pretty obvious even to nonscientists that how you get there depends partly on the genes you are born with and partly on lifestyle what and how much you eat, where you live and what types of stress and trauma we experience. How much depends on each factor, though, was unknown until some researchers start to look at the only set of people who share genes but not lifestyle. Namely identical twins that were separated at birth and reared apart. If genes were most important, we would expect the twins to die at about the same age. In fact, they don't, and the average difference convinced the scientists that only about 20% to 30% of how long we live is genetically determined. The dominant factor is lifestyle [21].

In Okinawa study was found that local people practice a dietary philosophy known as “hara hachi bu” literally, eight parts out of 10 full. In translation, they eat only to the point at which they are about 80% sated. That makes for a daily intake of no more than 1,800 calories, compared to the more than 2,500 that the average American man scarfs down. As scientists have learned from lab animals, the simple act of calorie restriction can have significant effects on longevity.

Different study of Seventh-Day Adventists in Utah supports this finding. Those unusually clean-living Americans are genetically diverse, but they avoid alcohol, caffeine and tobacco and they tend to live an average of eight years longer than their countrymen. All of this is good news which indicates, that we can't change our genes, but we can change what we eat and how much we exercise. The lesson from that is pretty clear in terms of what the average person should be doing. We strongly believe that with some changes in health-related behavior, each of us can earn the right to have at least 25 years beyond the age of 60 years of healthy life at good function. However the disappointing news is that it requires work and willpower [22].

Oldsters in Sardinia, another wellspring of longevity, have many similarities to their Okinawan counterparts except that the Sardinian ratio of centenarians is about equal for men and women (in most societies, 100-plus females outnumber males by 3 or 4 to 1). They maintain very active lives and powerful social networks; extended family and friends are available to share troubles and take some of the emotional burden out of life. Say researchers, which were studying the group. In addition the 100-year-olds are less depressed than average 60-year-olds [23]. That makes perfect sense to [24] who has studied American centenarians he calls them "expert survivors" and compared them to people in their 80s ("master survivors") and to relative youngsters in their 60s. Researchers found that out of 16 personality traits, the experts exhibited four coping mechanisms. First, he says, centenarians are more dominant. They want to have their way, and they are not easily pushed around. Many are characterized by "suspiciousness”. They do not take information on the superficial level but will question an issue and think it through. They tend to be practical rather than idealistic. And in their approach to life, they are likely to be more relaxed. In other words, they are strong but not inflexible characters.

One study determined that people whose age reaches three figures tend to have a high level of cognition, demonstrating skill in everyday problem solving and learning. Many of these subjects aren't rich, some of them have homes with mud floors. Nevertheless, they make good out it. "Many have their own gardens, they grow their own vegetables. They're living down to earth, means they live simple life [10].

Like the Okinawans, Sardinians and, the U.S. centenarians enjoy a strong social-support system. Few Americans live in a village anymore, but having outlived family and friends of the same age, the super old find new helpers and confidants among people younger by a generation or more. It might be someone to help with groceries or car trips or simply a sympathetic voice on the other end of the line. Maintaining a connection with the world, with younger people, keeps their outlook youthful.

With so much evidence that lifestyle is the key to healthy aging, it might be tempting to ignore the role of genes altogether. That would be a mistake. Brothers of centenarians are 17 times as likely to live to 100 as are people without 100-year-olds in the family, while sisters of centenarians are 8.5 times as likely to live into their second century. Given statistics like that, says [25] on exceptional survival, "we are interested in looking for some kind of genetic component to longevity." Author approach is to look at family members, especially the children, of centenarians. "Kids of centenarians who are in their 70s and early 80s are very much following in the footsteps of their parents, with around 80% reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes [12].

Indeed, despite number of adverse studies, there's evidence that in some families, at least, genes exert pretty powerful effects on life-span. For example, one study showed no consistent patterns in diet, exercise or healthy habits that could explain their extended years. About 20% had smoked at some point in their lives, and some had eating habits that should have made them obese or unhealthy but somehow did not. At least 10% to 15% had a history of heart disease, stroke or diabetes for more than 20 years. Something in that group's genes was

protecting them from succumbing to diseases that had felled the average American decades earlier. "These people still get to 100". They seem to have a functional reserve or adaptive capacity that allows them to get disease but not necessarily suffer from it [25,26]. The key seems to be resilience. Some of that resilience may be linked to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, a group clustered on chromosome 6 that affects vulnerability to such autoimmune diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis [26,27]. Some authors has found a region on chromosome 4 that centenarians and their siblings and children in the U.S. seem to have in common and that sets them apart from shorter-lived individuals. What exactly that stretch of DNA does remains to be discovered, but it may be a key not just to long life but also to the resilience found among U.S. centenarian-study participants, with their 20% smoking rate and imperfect eating habits [25]. That group may be especially genetically blessed, and researchers are eager to tap its secrets.