Aging naturally comes along with living a long life as our human biology stays in motion. Accepting this fact of life seems to be one of the biggest secrets revealed in actress Cameron Diaz’s new book, titled The Longevity Book: The Science of Aging, the Biology of Strength, and the Privilege of Time. Just 50 years ago, when Medicare was created, life expectancy was only age 75. Now we are living past age 100, bringing new meaning to how we will live these additional 25 years.
My family will celebrate my grandmother’s 100th birthday this month. As the oldest child of five, she has outlived all of her siblings. While she survived the Great Depression by skipping a year in school (then finishing high school at the top of her class) and worked daily doing physical labor by managing a dairy farm (yes, she milked cows twice a day, every day, for 40 years, and also home-cooked all the meals for the family and the farm workers). And now at age 99, all of her friends and family from her generation are passed away and she has the usual challenges associated with old age including loss of vision and hearing.
My family has always thought that in addition to genetics, you must possess some kind of mental ability to be resilient and to accept life’s challenges in order to live a long life. That is the only way, it seems, to go through your later years when you are losing your loved ones to death each week and losing many of your physical abilities. “Take it on the chin” is what my grandmother teaches us, then move on and have a laugh about it.
It turns out Cameron Diaz shares this advice as the secret to longevity that she discovered while researching her book. Having an accepting attitude about aging and life will deliver a sidekick of happiness to get you through your older years…….looking and feeling better than those who are battling the aging process.
Ms. Diaz’s 5 Longevity Lessons are:
- Good Nutrition
- Good Movement (Exercise)
- Good Sleep
- Stress Relief
- Staying Connected to Loving Friends and Family
In addition, planning for how you want to be cared for when caregiving services may be needed for medical issues and aging issues, also brings a peace of mind to the aging process. Few seniors have planned ahead for their caregiving needs. Research the senior care options and costs in your area now and create a plan. Talk to a financial planner (Transamerica provides free consultations on the costs of care and savings options) to enable you and your family to eliminate the stress of knowing what your caregiving plan will be should a medical issue arise in your older years. You may also receive a Caregiving Counselor to assist with this part of the aging journey and take an online caregiving training course to learn basic caregiver skills if you are caring for a loved one.
