7 Prominent Myths About Living Longer Debunked.

From reading the above title, you are probably thinking that this post is really unrelated to what I usually blog about. I decided to write this post as I think longevity is totally relevant to living healthy, being happy and successful while following my passion – My online endeavors!

Anyway, getting back to longevity; How come some people live longer than others? Why do some people thrive under certain circumstances and some don’t? What is the real secret behind living longer?

Genes, lifestyle, exercise, eat your veggies, be optimistic were randomly popping in my head as I thought about this topic. However, come to find out things like eat your veggies, relax, take things easy, get married and many others may help you live a happy life but does not ensure longevity.

Couple of weeks ago, I came across a very interesting article on the Parade section of The Dallas Moring News. The article was reprinted from a book – The longevity project written by Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin – which is based on a study of 1500 subjects over the period of 8 decades; originally started by Stanford University Psychologist Lewis Terman way back in 1921.

The subjects were tracked and studied to figure out why some thrived into old age and some didn’t. Why some died earlier than others?  What traits predicted their long or short lifespan considering a whole bunch of factors like personality, school, job, family, marriage and so on.

Debunking the myths:

Based on that study here are 7 popular myths about living longer debunked:

Myth # 1 > Get married and you will live longer:

Oftentimes, being married and staying married is referred to be directly related to a long and happy life. But study has shown that staying married does not guarantee a long life for everyone; even if the marriage is happy and successful. Research shows that staying married helps men towards longevity but is really insignificant for women.

Divorce seems to be the main reason in men for a shortened lifespan due to the simple fact that it can trigger the rise in unhealthy behaviors like drinking, smoking.  Men who stay married are very likely to live more than 70 years on an average but less than 1/3^rd divorced men made it that far.

For women though, the exact opposite seems to hold true. Women who got divorced and never remarried usually lived longer. However, women in continuous marriage lived somewhat longer than women who got divorced and remarried.

Myth # 2 > Relaxin’ and taking it easy ensures longevity:

The idea of working hard while we are young and saving up for retirement for later on in life (so that we can relax and take it easy) is instilled in the head of a lot of people. That is the way I thought too till I found out that taking it easy does not play any significant role in living longer. Though taking it easy once in a while is essential, study shows that people that do not retire early were not only more successful but also lived an average of 5 years more than their counterparts.

I thought that increased responsibility and heavy workload over a long period of time wears us down and makes us old. Ironically, being responsible, ambitious, passionate, motivated and dedicated is directly related to long and healthy life. This is very motivating for us bloggers and internet entrepreneurs that are in for the long haul and are not looking for an easy way out. Don’t you think?

Both men and women who lived a productive life, day in and day out, lived longer than the ones that were more laid back. A sustained work life adds years to your life so if you are thinking about an early retirement; it time to think twice (O:

Myth # 3 > You can fret yourself to death:

Many of us believe that if we worry too much our lifespan shortens. Well, to some extent worrying too much about unnecessary things can drastically impact longevity. But, study shows that worrying about the things that are important in life can increase your lifespan. Significant things like health, responsibilities can make you obsessive, organized, responsible and detail oriented which in turn adds years to your life. Lifestyle planning with a definite purpose in mind has shown to significantly boost longevity both on men and women.

People that worry about personal health tend to take care of themselves and are real conscious on pursuing activities that shortens their lifespan; like drinking, smoking, abusing drugs and so on. Other simple things like not speeding, wearing seatbelts while driving and not pushing the boundaries can obviously help in your longevity.

So, think before you engage in something that is dangerous or risky.

Myth # 4 > Higher education help add years to your life:

In the career oriented society we live in, it is often not strange to think that higher education and more degrees is going to lead us to better careers, more money and a long happy life. Decades of study by Terman and his fellow researchers show that higher degree may help in you land better careers and even more money but it does not ensure a long and happy life.

One significant factor to longevity, however, is that educated people used common sense in doing what is right in terms of their health and lifestyle. According to the research, education did make some difference but higher education and more degrees didn’t impact much.

Myth # 5 > Outgoing and social people live longer:

How many times have you worried about yourself not being an extrovert? We live in a society that leans heavily in favor of extroverts in terms of career and personal success. We think that a better social relation makes us healthier and happier. Right?

Being outgoing and social interactions are necessary to some extent. But according to the research, just because you are an introvert, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are going to have a short life.

Well, social people may have the charm and enthusiasm but they are very likely to take part in high risk actions that can drastically reduce their life span. Introverts on the other hand are found to be more responsible and very less likely to jeopardize their life engaging in such activities.

Myth # 6 > Being optimistic adds years to your life:

Now, I believe this one is the biggest bust of all. We all have heard that in order to live a happy and healthy life, we need to be optimistic. Strangely enough, study shows that cheerful and optimistic person are likely to die early than pessimistic ones.

What? But how could this be? Well, come to find out cheerfulness can be a great risk factor for high blood pressure and cholesterol.  Majority of Terman’s subjects show that happiness and good health often does go hand in hand but happiness alone did not ensure longevity.

A major dilemma of being optimistic is that many people tend to disregard threats or don’t foresee the impact of their actions because they become too optimistic!

Myth # 7 > If you are super athletic you live longer:

There is no doubt that regular exercise is very essential for healthy brain, heart as well as other bodily functions. However, you don’t really have to be super athletic and bust your ass doing heavy workouts every day. Terman’s study shows that people that are very athletic during their younger years if quit engaging on it as they grow older have no benefits in prolonged existence.

The key to living longer is not to be sporty just in younger days. But it is to find something that you love doing, which doesn’t have to be very rigorous and intense, and stick to it for the rest of your life.

So there we go, these are the seven myths related to living longer busted.

What do you think ensures longevity?

Please feel free to comment down below to share your thoughts and insights. Plus, if you like this article Tweet it and share it in Facebook or your favorite social media outlets.

Here’s to your long and healthy life!

-Adam Paudyal.

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