A 115-year-old Surrey woman named Ethel Caterham has officially been handed the title of the oldest living human alive .
Author
- Bradley Elliott
Reader in Ageing Physiology, University of Westminster
Many people reading this news may wonder what Caterham's secret is.
While it isn't usually a good idea to take health and longevity advice from supercentenarians (as they're often the exception rather than the rule), there are some lifestyle pointers that we can take from research on groups of long-lived people that might help us increase our chances of living a longer life.
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1. Physical activity
Physical activity is good for you - who knew? Research shows that people who are more physically active each day tend to live longer, healthier lives . One study found that going from no physical activity to about 75 minutes per week of brisk walking increased life expectancy by about two years .
But perhaps less well known is just how bad inactivity is for your health and longevity. It's a tad difficult to explain, but the positive effects of exercise are actually different from the negative effects of inactivity. That means that you can have a positive influence on your health by being both more active and avoiding being inactive.
Yet as good as structured exercise is for you, it can't by itself offset the harms of inactivity and sitting all day. Research even shows that being sedentary is associated with higher risk of premature death from any cause.
If you want to live longer, you should try to avoid sitting for long periods of time if possible. Practical tips for this include standing up every 30 minutes, going to see someone in the office instead of calling or emailing them and standing on public transport during commuting. This, plus the aim to do about 30 minutes moderate exercise most days will help maximise your odds of a long, healthy life.
2. Eat your veggies
The advice many kids dread: eat your vegetables if you want to live a long time.
A recent study that followed around 100,000 people over a 30 year period found that people who made it to 70 years of age in good health (meaning they had no chronic diseases) typically ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, and fewer trans-fats, red or processed meats, fried foods and sugary foods. Importantly, this study doesn't say that you must be a vegan, or never eat red meats - it only identifies trends within diets associated with healthy ageing.
When and how much you eat may also play a role when it comes to ageing. Research on caloric restriction and intermittent fasting in animals has shown both can increase lifespan. Our preliminary work in humans has also shown that following a fasting diet for three weeks can cause similar, positive metabolic shifts that match what we've seen in animals that will live longer. However, larger studies over longer time-frames are needed to establish effects on healthspan and lifespan in humans.
3. Sleep
Regular, good quality sleep is also important for lifelong health and overall longevity .
In a study of about 500,000 British people, irregular sleep patterns were associated with a 50% higher risk of early death compared to those with regular sleep patterns. Shift workers showed higher risk for strokes, and nurses who worked rotating shifts for decades were less healthy and had earlier deaths at retirement compared to nurses who didn't work shifts.
While this data suggests that good quality, regular sleep is important for good health, how much sleep you need and when you should go to bed appears to be highly individualistic . This makes giving population-wide recommendations difficult - which is why the NHS recommends adults get between 7-9 hours sleep .
4. Stress
Stress has many effects on your health.
For instance, increasing evidence shows that early-life stressors (such as loss of a parent, neglect or abuse) can negatively affect health later in life - even down to a molecular and cellular level by increasing inflammation levels in ways that could increase the risk of poor health and premature death in older age .
Conversely, older adults that show increased psychological resilience to stress are less likely to die from any cause . As little as eight weeks of regular yoga is enough to improve psychological resilience in older adults.
Possibly linked is the effect of social connections. Those that live more socially active lives also tend to live longer . In fact, people over 65 who are socially active daily are three times more likely to live for five more years compared to those that almost never engage in social activities.
It's a common finding that strong social networks appear to enhance longevity . This may be due to the way social connections help us alleviate stressors in our lives.
The role of genetics
While there are many lifestyle habits we can change, one thing we can't control when it comes to our lifespans is genetics. Some research suggests that naturally-occurring mutations in genes associated with longevity are more common in long-lived people .
Although it's hard to tease out the role of genetics versus lifestyle when it comes to lifespan, current predictions suggest that longevity is between 20-40% related to genetics .
But good genetics aren't everything. Although Ethel Caterham has made it to the remarkable age of 115 - and one of her sisters lived to be 104 - Caterham's two daughters pre-deceased her at 71 and 83 years of age.
And even if you do win the genetic jackpot and follow a good lifestyle, you would still be very lucky to make it to Caterham's grand old age of 115. Cells mutate, clots form, biological luck runs out. Still, if you want to maximise your odds of living longer and staying as healthy as possible, aim to be more physically active each day, eat a good diet, get a good night's sleep and keep stress levels low.
Bradley Elliott receives funding from the Physiological Society, the British Society for Research on Ageing, the Altitude Centre, and private philanthropic individuals, and has consulted for industry and government on longevity research. He is on the Board of Trustees of the British Society for Research on Ageing.
