Issues That Affect Longevity Guide Life Quality Factors

This longevity guide for life quality factors is offered as a preventative advisory to help you better manage your healthcare and wellness affairs. The cornerstone of our consumer directed healthcare and wellness culture is that no one will mind your business better than you will, if you know how. Our purpose is to show you how.

It would be terrific if we could invoke Woody Allen's longevity rule that says “I don’t want to know when I’ll die. Just tell me where, so I can avoid the place.”

It’s not that simple, so this idea requires four things that we hope are true for most of us most of the time.

1. That you can achieve a quality, fulfilling life that you enjoy so that you want to continue it and to improve it. The basis is a positive attitude. Not always present, but always available if we seek it.

2. That you are sufficiently motivated to maintain your quality of life so that you will expend the effort to achieve it and exercise the discipline to maintain it.

3. Avoid conduct that detracts from quality longevity. Rejecting the attractive but harmful often requires more discipline than doing the tedious.

4. If you wander from your intended regimen, exercise self-control to get back on the right track. Return to good habits as soon as you can.

The Longevity Game

A creative and fun way to help you take charge of your wellness issues can be found in “longevity games” that predict human lifespan. They seek to make individual lifespan projections based on heredity, environment and personal conduct factors that affect us. They point the way to the things we should do, the things we should avoid and the things which we can not control that affect our health and our life spans.

Because it incorporates vital “fixed factors” that we can not control, we favor “The Longevity Game”, as published by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. We do not represent or have any association with Northwestern Mutual. To see and play Northwestern Mutual’s game, go to Longevity Game.

Northwestern’s game uses an average life expectancy of 76 years as its baseline. Lifestyle factors allow you to add to or subtract from that baseline to estimate your own life-expectancy. We cite this game primarily as a reference point to discuss the lifestyle factors that you should or should not use in seeking to improve the quality and length of your life.

Life Quality Factors:

As we age, we experience physical deterioration. At first, it’s subtle and gradual. We go through our 30’s and feel great. We may not even notice our aging, except for the change in clothing sizes or hair line or color. We reach our 40’s and may notice that we don’t have the endurance we once had. We don’t recover from exertion as quickly. We have a few new aches and pains.

In our 50’s, we start to realize that we are changing, that we are aging. We still feel good, but the aches and pains are more noticeable. That’s when we start taking steps to deal with those aches and pains that are symptoms of aging and that detract from life quality.

Most baby boomers are now in their 50’s and 60’s. They are coming to grips with such life quality issues. These are not life-threatening issues, but the discomforts that nag at us as we pursue the active lifestyle we have always considered normal. Here are a few guidelines to help.

High Blood Pressure: High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer” because you usually don’t feel it and don’t know you have it. It’s slow and deliberate. You have to check it to find out if you have it. That usually happens when you visit a doctor’s office for some other cause or for a regular physical exam. Catch it early and it can be controlled through medication, diet and weight control before damage is done. Paying attention is a big step toward controlling the problem. If you know your blood pressure and control it, that can add at least a year to longevity.

Sleep And Rest: The National Sleep Foundation maintains that eight to nine hours of sleep for adult humans is optimal. Most of us need at least seven to eight hours of sleep daily to function properly. Sufficient sleep and rest benefits alertness, memory, problem solving and overall health. Our biological clocks have two cycles with two dips per day. For many people, one dip occurs shortly after lunch, the other just before what should be bedtime.

The Harvard School of Public Health made a study on any link between napping and health. They determined that those who took a half-hour midday nap break at least three times a week were 37 percent less likely to die of heart disease as compared to those who never napped. It may not be conclusive, but it’s good enough to relieve any guilty conscience if you have the chance to grab a short nap after lunch. It could improve your afternoon performance and your longevity.

As to the evening dip, there is an old saying that every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight. Thus, early to bed, early to rise, etc, etc, etc. Getting at least eight hours of sleep a night and a short nap after lunch a few days a week could be worth several years of longevity.

Harmony: Although it’s not a scoring factor in longevity games described on this webpage, harmony in your daily life is vitally important to the quality and length of your life. A happy and harmonious marriage can add about three years to a woman’s life, maybe seven to a man’s. Compatibility and friendship are important, but so is an active and healthy sexual relationship.

A survey of senior couples over 55 years old indicated that they had sex an average of 58 times a year. A separate study connecting overall health with sexual frequency tracked about 1,000 middle-aged men over a ten year period. That study showed that men who reported the highest frequency of sex, typically three or more times a week, experienced a death rate fifty percent lower than those who had a low frequency of sex.

In the reports that we have seen of sexual frequency surveys and studies, it appears that men are more concerned with quantity, that is the number of times they have sex. Women, on the other hand, are more concerned with the quality of the experience. Could we conclude that if men became more sensitive to satisfying the quality issue for women, quantity might be less a concern for men? That may be a good topic for discussion between friends and lovers.

There is one other important factor about sexual relationships that needs to be mentioned. That is erectile dysfunction or any other sexual inability on the man’s part. We’ve probably heard more about that and some little blue pill remedy than most of us ever wanted to know.

If that is an issue in your love relationship, you should understand that this condition is only a precursor of more a serious physical problem, maybe a cardio-vascular or diabetic condition that looms over the horizon for a guy. Something not right is causing it.

Actually, when you think about it, erectile dysfunction may be the best way to get a man’s attention. If a man has been reluctant to go to the doctor, and most are, this should get him to change his mind. If there is any resistance on his part to seeing a doctor, a concerned spouse must insist that he go as soon as possible and do whatever it takes to get him there.

Dietary Supplements:

Methylsulfony Methane (MSM): As a treatment for joint aches and pain due to arthritis, MSM is a form of sulfur that your body can absorb. MSM is sold as a dietary supplement, often in combination with glucosamine and/or chondroitin to help treat arthritis symptoms. A typical dosage is 1,500mg per day. MSM relieves inflammation and chronic joint pain and increases physical function.

Glucosamine: Glucosamine is usually derived from shellfish and is commonly used as a treatment for osteoarthritis. Oral glucosamine may help rebuild cartilage. It is sold as a dietary supplement, with a typical dosage of 1,500mg per day.

Chondroitin: Chondroitin (chondroitin sulfate) is a major component of cartilage. Loss of chondroitin sulfate is a primary cause of osteoarthritis. Chondroitin is usually made from cartilaginous tissues of cows, pigs, sharks or fish. Sold as a dietary supplement, the typical dosage is 800 to 1,200mg per day. Chondroitin is often sold in combination with glucosamine and/or MSM.

Dimethylethanolanol (DMAE): DMAE is naturally found in sardines, anchovies and other fish. It occurs in the human brain in small amounts. DMAE has shown some positive results in improving memory, mental focus and attention span. In laboratory experiments, it has inhibited aging in mice and extended lifespan.

DMAE was once proposed to the FDA as a treatment for ADD behavioral and learning problems. The manufacturer did not complete the testing requirements for licensing, so the FDA approved other drugs, including Ritalin, as prescription drugs. DMAE is available as a non-prescription, over the counter nutritional supplement that does not carry FDA approval.

In Europe, doctors prescribe the drug Centrophenoxine, with the central ingredient being DMAE, to boost cognitive function in the aged. The Vitamin Research News gives DMAE its "high ranking on the list of proven anti-aging supplements." DMAE may help to stabilize cell membranes, naturally protecting them from the changes that cause aging. Test reports of DMAE with Alzheimer’s patients have been inconclusive. DMAE is available as a dietary supplement with recommended beginning doses of 100 to 150mg per day and maximum dosage up to 300mg.

Diindole Methane (DIM): DIM is a concentrated plant extract that metabolizes excess estrogen and can be used to lower estrogen in the body for men, thereby reducing body fat. Typical dosage starts with 100mg twice daily. It is available as a dietary supplement.

Longevity Summary:

You can’t change the fixed factors of your life. But, you can change the variable, fitness, dietary and life quality factors of how you live your life through your Personal Wellness Plan.

You can include regular stretching and exercise; good diet practices; moderate drinking habits; sensible weight; good blood pressure maintenance; avoidance of smoking; safe driving habits; continuing to socialize, to work and to be active even if in volunteer service; and, a positive mental attitude to enhance your health, longevity and quality of life.

The extent to which you can help yourself in better managing your health and wellness is borne out by all of the factors described in these related pages. The potential difference in life expectancy can be startling. Bad conduct and poor health habits could penalize you by 30 years or more.

Good habits and healthy conduct, that you maintain through your Personal Wellness Plan, could not only cancel out the 30 years of penalties, but might also extend your life by up to another 13 to 15 years. That’s a potential lifespan swing of nearly 45 years. That’s a lifetime, achievable through an effective Personal Wellness Plan.

You can do it, no matter how late you may think you are. All you have to do is start, then keep going back to your plan whenever you get off track.

What is your Longevity Game score? What can you do to improve it? Take charge of your life! You can get assistance in developing your personal plan through our health and wellness assistance, advocacy and concierge services.

Minding Your Healthcare Business:

Many Americans have become almost passive players in a complex healthcare system. At the same time, most patients, especially seniors, have come to regard their doctors in high esteem, as a trusted professional advisor and advocate. Patients have been the consumers, but many have been compliant players in the healthcare equation. This passive role of patients began to change with the maturity of the baby boomer generation who desired more control over their affairs.

With the development of the Internet and the information age, people have discovered a greater ability to research healthcare issues. We have also found that no one will mind your business as well as you will, if you know how. For most people, minding your healthcare business starts with the doctor-patient relationship.

Doctors are interested in helping their patients pursue the course of treatment that is best for those patients. However, many doctors are not accustomed to being questioned by assertive patients. They sometimes react defensively. Be aware of that possibility. But, keep in mind that no one is more attuned to your best interests than you are. You are the consumer, the patient. You are the expert on you and how you feel. If you have questions or feel the need to seek alternatives or second opinions, do not hesitate to do so.

For ideas on Longevity Fixed Factors, go to Fixed Factors.

For ideas on Longevity Variable Factors, go to Variable Factors.

For ideas on Longevity Fitness Factors, go to Fitness Factors.

For ideas on Longevity Diet Factors, go to Diet Factors.

For ideas on Longevity Nutritional Factors, go to Nutritional Factors.

If you have questions or need additional information, go to our Contact Us Form.

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