Throughout history, elderly people were seen as respected leaders, pillars of wisdom for the community. And yet today, seniors are largely relegated to the corners of our society, marginalized and disrespected.
This is partly due to the fact that in our modern world, growing old is equated with becoming sick, decrepit, and senile. It's true that the rate of diseases like Alzheimer's is growing rapidly, with 1 in 3 seniors now dying with Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.
But does growing old have to be this way? According to research, not necessarily. Research such as the Okinawa study suggests that there's no reason why the majority of us can't live at least 100 disease-free, healthy years. And there's currently a lot of exciting research centered around telomere length in relation to our longevity. Basically, the longer your telomeres (the end caps to your chromosomes), the longer you might live.
But it's not just about how many years you live. It's about quantity and quality of life.
And research suggests that our mental and emotional health might also play a role in our ability to live long, happy lives. In fact, one fascinating study, published by the American Psychological Association, found that certain personality traits were found in people who lived longest. This 75-year study consisted of 300 couples who enrolled in the study in their 20s. The participants picked a handful of friends to rate their personalities using a 36-question scale. (Apparently we are not particularly good at identifying traits in ourselves, but our close friends are usually spot-on!) Then, the researchers evaluated the data to see which personalities were most common in those who ended up living longest.
Here are the five key traits that were associated with longevity:
1. Conscientiousness
People who were less likely to take risks but also were thorough and efficient tended to live longer.2. Openness
Study participants who were quick to listen to others' feelings and ideas were found to live a longer life span.3. Emotional stability
Get off the emotional roller coaster! Being emotionally stable was found to be one of the strongest links to living a long life.4. Friendliness
For women in the study, friendliness was the second highest character quality associated with a long life.Similarly, another recent study published in the journal Aging evaluated 243 people between the ages of 95 and 100 and found that all of them rated highly on measures of how easygoing they were.
5. Emotional expression
Other research also suggests that people who lived into their 90s and 100s were more likely to be able to openly express their emotions.How many of these traits do you also seem to have? Even if they don't seem to fit your personality, notice that all of these traits are really centered around one thing: mindfulness.
We spend most of our lives lost in our reactive mind—worrying about the future, regretting the past. This way of living brings about the opposite of the personality traits associated with a long life. If we are alert and rooted in the present moment, we'll be more conscientious, open, emotionally stable, friendly, and emotionally expressive. Mindfulness can bring out the traits found in people who tend to live long, healthy lives.
It's one reason I always recommend a regular and consistent mindfulness practice for optimal health.
So let's all age with grace and health—mental, emotional, spiritual and physical vibrancy. Let's make growing older something to be respected again.
If you want to learn more about living a long, present life, read on:
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