Living to 90+

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
#1

A very good “60 Minutes” segment on a large study of 90+ year olds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqKfL3z5yM4

Takeaways:

No smoking.

Socialize and keep your mind active.

Exercise 45 minutes per day. Doesn’t have to be vigorous or continuous. Exercising more than 45 minutes daily did not increase longevity.

1 to 3 cups of coffee daily (too bad I’m allergic to caffeine).

Do not be underweight or obese. Normal weight is OK. Overweight live longest. That’s not true of the middle-aged, but it is true of the very old.

Moderate alcohol is good. Doesn’t have to be wine.

Low blood pressure in the very old can cause brain infarcts (tiny mini-strokes that have no symptoms but gradually eat away at the living brain tissue, causing dementia). Normal or high blood pressure is best for the very old. High blood pressure being good is counterintuitive, but that’s what the data say.

The demographic segment of the very old is increasing faster than any other age group. Unfortunately, dementia doubles every 5 years after age 60. That continues throughout life so the risk of dementia in old age is high.

This program was originally made in 2014. It doesn’t say anything about sleep. More recent research shows that the brain cleans out “garbage” (broken proteins, etc.) during deep sleep. Unfortunately, many older people wake many times at night and have difficulty achieving deep sleep. That’s associated with an increased risk of dementia. Sleeping very long periods (>10 hours per day) and/or lots of naps during the day is associated with a greater risk of dementia. So try to ge 7-9 hours of solid sleep per night if you can.

Wendy

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#2

I took care of my uncle until he died at age 94. My conclusion was that he was existing not living. I will be happy to reach 80. I have desire to live past age 80.

#3

I took care of my uncle until he died at age 94. My conclusion was that he was existing not living.

Dr. Bill Thomas of the Eden Alternative coined the lovely expression, “A life worth living.”

https://www.edenalt.org/who-we-are/

The Captain

#4

“I took care of my uncle until he died at age 94. My conclusion was that he was existing not living.”

My Uncle lived to 94. Visited him at 91 (he was 1200 miles away). Was in a CCR type deal. He moved there at age 90 for several reasons including his 100 year old house was deteriorating, the neighborhood had gone from excellent to nasty…and his wife had died 5 years earlier.

At 91, he had a nice apartment. Had 2 meals a day in the facility…had a small kitchenette.

He swam a 1/4 mile a day in the pool and did water aerobics. Had a bunch of friends. He gave up his car at 92 - the facility had shuttles to medical and shopping and food stores. There were clubs and activities.

Last 4 months he went downhill. Moved to higher level care.

Can’t complain. If only I should be so lucky. He was the runt of the large family and outlived everyone else. By far.

t.

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