Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity

1. It's never too late to make it to the Final Four...

Evidence of great athletic achievement is all around us these days. Perhaps it is Florida Atlantic in the Final Four or, somewhat less famously but no less compellingly, the four 80+ men who successfully completed a 100-mile race this month. It is inspiring for sure, and of course a reminder that exercise is one of the best ways to ward off age-related disease. 

But perhaps you are inspired but nervous, fearing that too much exercise might stress your body. Perhaps you can still hear your mother’s admonition: “don’t overexert yourself, you’ll give yourself a heart attack.” Well, fear not. A new study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center sheds new light on the likelihood of sudden cardiac events in sports for older adults, and as it turns out, though we are reluctant to say it out loud, it’s possible that your mother wasn’t quite right. In examining the data of sports-related cardiac arrest in adults over 65, researchers found that a very small percentage of attacks occurred in older adults: only 2 to 3 cases per 100,000 people. In other words, the risk of sports-related sudden cardiac arrest in older adults is rare, regardless if you’re cycling, hitting the gym, running, playing a round of golf or tennis, or anything else that gets you moving.

It should be fairly clear that the risk of inactivity is far greater than the cardiac risk of too much activity. It makes us want to hop off the couch and start training for that ultramarathon… but maybe not until the Final Four is over.

2. Is there an Elite Eight for Sun Salutations?

We are, to be clear, completely in awe of those four 80+ ultramarathoners—we’re pretty wiped out after driving 100 miles—but we’re not likely to emulate them anytime soon. Fortunately, there are somewhat less stressful options out there, starting with yoga. According to the new report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, yoga helps with walking speed, lower extremity strength and endurance. Across a study spanning over 2,000 participants and 12 countries, researchers determined that regular yoga practice can have a significant positive impact on frailty in adults over 65— no small feat considering the wide range of positive benefits that combatting frailty can yield. In fact, as we age, physical function increasingly becomes the factor most strongly associated with quality of life and the risk for several adverse outcomes. 

So don’t despair: your brackets may be busted and your alma mater’s team sent home, but better health may await you with a little effort. As the yoga study’s lead author wrote, “It’s never too late to start a yoga practice or exercise regimen to help with your overall health status in your later years.”

3. Choose your elective: Tech Ninja Support Desk, or Quilting 101.

It’s no secret—at least to the readers of this newsletter—that intergenerational friendships can do a whole lot of good for your mental (and consequently, physical) health. Yet opportunities to forge such connections in our age-segregated society are fleetingly rare— which is why we get so jazzed when we hear of a successful intergenerational effort.

This week, we were heartened by the story of Swampscott High School outside of Boston, which merged with a local senior center in 2007. Faced with overcrowding in the school system, and decline in the senior center, county executives took the challenge as an opportunity to combine the two campuses into one. The results have been nothing less than inspiring, as collaborations between the high schoolers and seniors have consisted of everything from “Tech Ninja” help desks, to knitting classes, to asking veterans to share their experience in history classes. And the benefits have been substantial: students report feeling better integrated into the community, while seniors describe the widespread benefits of socialization and purpose–driven positivity.

Efforts like Swampscott’s are still rare of course, but increasingly, it seems like a wave of the future.