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I'm sure you've met people, let's say one person was 65y/o and the other person was the same.
But you thought to yourself one of them was an "old 65".
For example---My mom is 66y/o and I also work with a lady that is 66y/o but the lady I work with is an "old 66". My mom is what I would call a young 66. My mom is a vibrant person with a young spirit and barely wrinkled. She has pretty skin and is very active.
The lady I work with reminds me of a great grandmother, very wrinkled and just "old acting", doesn't like to do much and just a bore to talk with.
I agree that genetics plays a huge role, but some people with good genes can sabotage them.
My maternal grandmother lived to 86, and only died because of a medication they put her on. My maternal grandfather lived to 81, and would have lived longer if he'd seen a doctor once in awhile.
Their child, my mother, lived to just 76. She looked much older than her parents did, at that age. There was nothing really wrong with her. She never smoked or drank, and never had serious health issues. But she didn't want to live anymore, and just faded away within a week. Nothing could save her.
I am now 68. Once in awhile I find a photo of my mother, usually at a younger age than I am now. I am always struck by how much older she looks than I do. What is the difference? I guess she was resigned to getting ready to die, while I am still getting ready to live.
Genes are important. But you can age and die quickly because you want to, or expect to.
In addition to the physical stuff, you have to keep your mind engaged and challenged. I remember my husband's two aunts (they were sisters) lived together and read the NY Times every day. We'd get together for holidays and as soon as you walked in the door, one of them was asking you your opinion about some current event that was happening and she would then go on to debate both sides and tell you all the facts.
They were well into their 70s when they went on a cruise and told a story about an "old lady" that fell on the cruise. When I asked how old the "old lady" was they said, "well she had to be in her 80s". After we left, I asked my husband, "what to they think they are?" He said, "it's all relative."
Forgetting genetics which we cant control, this is what I have read -
1. At least 30 minutes of exercise a day - break a sweat every day.
....15.....
I think #1 should have two parts.
Do the same for your mind every day as you recommend for the body. And I don't meaning cross word puzzles, memory games, etc. I am talking about latching onto a book, a film, some music, some intellectual activity that is right at the edge of your comfort zone....and then bust your mental hump getting the hang of. And go from intellectual exercise to intellectual exercise, and work on the fat and clogged arteries of lifelong opinions and likes and dislikes that have accumulated in the intellect.
It's mostly genetic. Not necessarily based upon your mother or father because there are throwbacks and you could have inherited something either good or back from someone further back.
But, as people have already mentioned, no smoking or heavy drinking. Keep a somewhat active lifestyle, but as you get into your 60s and 70s, you usually can't do strenuous exercise but you could still play golf or swim.
Eat well--limit the junk food. It all takes a toll and will put a strain on your body. You can usually tell the people who eat junk just by looking at their skin. Just as you can tell an older person who has sat out in the sun too much by their wrinkled, sagging skin.
Keep interested. As soon as you lose interest in things, you start to go downhill. Have interests and hobbies. The people I've known who lived the longest were alert and involved, interested in what was going on. My grandmother traveled to England when she was 81 and always had a curiousity about things, always interested, got excited over things and laughed a lot.
I agree that genetics plays a huge role, but some people with good genes can sabotage them.
My maternal grandmother lived to 86, and only died because of a medication they put her on. My maternal grandfather lived to 81, and would have lived longer if he'd seen a doctor once in awhile.
Their child, my mother, lived to just 76. She looked much older than her parents did, at that age. There was nothing really wrong with her. She never smoked or drank, and never had serious health issues. But she didn't want to live anymore, and just faded away within a week. Nothing could save her.
I am now 68. Once in awhile I find a photo of my mother, usually at a younger age than I am now. I am always struck by how much older she looks than I do. What is the difference? I guess she was resigned to getting ready to die, while I am still getting ready to live.
Genes are important. But you can age and die quickly because you want to, or expect to.
Genes work there too. She probably didn't feel good. What was going on? We'll never know. When you don't feel good, sometimes just due to aging, life can become a useless drudgery. It's not all smiles like you see on those pharmaceutical commercials and other stuff on TV. All too often, far from it. But it works the other way, too. My neighbor on one side drinks like a fish, almost every day. And smokes. And lays around in the sun a lot. He just turned 77 and nobody can keep up with him, physically, nor lookswise (he looks pretty much the same as he did 20 years ago). I don't think you can predict this all too well. My other neighbor, happy go lucky, 62, in good shape, no bad habits, died in her sleep last September - they found mast cells in her heart muscle (rare, and can cause sudden death - even in 30 year olds). I tend to think it was just genes.
It's all in the genes. Aside from that, just don't go overboard with drinking, and don't smoke. If you have light skin, stay out of the sun.
Especially don't go overboard with drinking when you're going overboard where there are alligators and you have been mocking them because of how drunk you are.
Die young with while you still have a great looking body ?
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