Is there really any guarantee? That is, could you adopt a behavior that would ensure a long life?
HEADLINE: “Japanese dad claims he sleeps 30 minutes each day for last 12 years to double his life expectancy.” *
True story: I dropped in to see my parents, then in their upper eighties, about lunchtime. My dad asked my mother whether they were having salami sandwiches for lunch. She said, “No, that’s for next week. We have baloney today.” They had lived through the Great Depression, poverty, and hardship. When he was eight years old, my dad lost his father, putting his survival and the survival of his two sisters in the hands of his mother. He finished high school and then after December 7, 1941, he joined the marines and fought in the battle for Okinawa. At age 15 my mother dropped out of school to help support her 7 siblings and her parents; she never finished high school. She worked during my teenage and adult years. Both parents smoked, she into her late fifties and he until he was about 62—unfiltered cigarettes. Their diet was a 1940s and 1950s mix; white bread was in the bread drawer, processed meats in their refrigerator. Tuesday nights were unfailingly spaghetti nights. Picnics featured hamburgers and hot dogs. Bacon grease and lard were on hand for cooking. She drank coffee, but on only a few occasions did I see her drink water. Their faces were relatively wrinkle free, making them appear young by comparison with others their age. When he retired from his foreman’s job at a printing company, he took up golf, walking a hilly course five mornings each week before macular degeneration weakened his eyesight, forcing him to closet his clubs and take up bowling—and getting a trophy for the highest score in his league. He ate an apple every evening.
He died at age 97; she in the same year at age 95. They had celebrated their 75th anniversary.
Every Longevity Guru
Every longevity guru today would say there was no way my parents’ lifestyle would guarantee such a long life. Every such guru will be fortunate to live as long as my parents.
Depriving oneself of sleep, sleeping eight hours each night, taking this or that supplement, exercising hard, walking, running, going vegan, going carnivore, eliminating cholesterol, drinking water or green tea…you name it; you pick your longevity guarantee.
We’ll have to wait to see whether the sleepless Japanese man lives twice as long as… Well, what is the age by which we measure longevity? And what lifestyle truly guarantees 95 or 97 years?
Of course, there do seem to be lifestyles detrimental to longevity. But which lifestyle guarantees it? Jim Fixx, famous for writing The Complete Book of Running, is dead. He died of a heart attack when he was about half my parents’ age.
What if not drinking much water and eating an apple every evening make one live longer?
*Nicholas McEntyre. New York Post. Sep. 4, 2024.
HEADLINE: “Japanese dad claims he sleeps 30 minutes each day for last 12 years to double his life expectancy.” *
True story: I dropped in to see my parents, then in their upper eighties, about lunchtime. My dad asked my mother whether they were having salami sandwiches for lunch. She said, “No, that’s for next week. We have baloney today.” They had lived through the Great Depression, poverty, and hardship. When he was eight years old, my dad lost his father, putting his survival and the survival of his two sisters in the hands of his mother. He finished high school and then after December 7, 1941, he joined the marines and fought in the battle for Okinawa. At age 15 my mother dropped out of school to help support her 7 siblings and her parents; she never finished high school. She worked during my teenage and adult years. Both parents smoked, she into her late fifties and he until he was about 62—unfiltered cigarettes. Their diet was a 1940s and 1950s mix; white bread was in the bread drawer, processed meats in their refrigerator. Tuesday nights were unfailingly spaghetti nights. Picnics featured hamburgers and hot dogs. Bacon grease and lard were on hand for cooking. She drank coffee, but on only a few occasions did I see her drink water. Their faces were relatively wrinkle free, making them appear young by comparison with others their age. When he retired from his foreman’s job at a printing company, he took up golf, walking a hilly course five mornings each week before macular degeneration weakened his eyesight, forcing him to closet his clubs and take up bowling—and getting a trophy for the highest score in his league. He ate an apple every evening.
He died at age 97; she in the same year at age 95. They had celebrated their 75th anniversary.
Every Longevity Guru
Every longevity guru today would say there was no way my parents’ lifestyle would guarantee such a long life. Every such guru will be fortunate to live as long as my parents.
Depriving oneself of sleep, sleeping eight hours each night, taking this or that supplement, exercising hard, walking, running, going vegan, going carnivore, eliminating cholesterol, drinking water or green tea…you name it; you pick your longevity guarantee.
We’ll have to wait to see whether the sleepless Japanese man lives twice as long as… Well, what is the age by which we measure longevity? And what lifestyle truly guarantees 95 or 97 years?
Of course, there do seem to be lifestyles detrimental to longevity. But which lifestyle guarantees it? Jim Fixx, famous for writing The Complete Book of Running, is dead. He died of a heart attack when he was about half my parents’ age.
What if not drinking much water and eating an apple every evening make one live longer?
*Nicholas McEntyre. New York Post. Sep. 4, 2024.
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