Seasonal Paradise

Focus, And Be Happier

An interesting Harvard study was reviewed in an article in today's NY Times. When the Mind Wanders, Happiness Also Strays. Apparently if you're focusing on something, you're more likely to be happy. Our  minds wander about half the time. The 2,200 people in the Harvard study reported that sex, exercise, listening to music, walking, eating and praying/meditating were the top 6 most enjoyable activities. When you do something you enjoy, your mind is less likely to wander. Endorphines are released with physical activity, to naturally make you feel good. So pay attention and be more aware...focus, hit the gym, and get outdoors more often.

Dan Buettner: How to Live To Be 100+

I recently read 'The Blue Zones.' Dan Buettner, the author, spoke at TED and summarized the 9 things he'd learned that centenarians do around the world. Here they are:

1. Move naturally, set up your life so you're constantly nudged into physical activity. i.e. take stairs, walk, garden!
2. Take time to downshift. i.e. pray, relax, don't hurry, don't stress, take a siesta 15 mins a day
3. Find a sense of purpose. 
4. Drink a little
5. Mainly eat plants, beans and nuts
6. Stop eating when you reach 80% full
7. Put your family first
8. Belong to a community. i.e. faith based
9. Find your right tribe. i.e. hang out with healthy people that you trust

Longevity Design - 25 Steps To An Extended Youth

If you want to live to 95 and still be as spritely as Jack Lalanne, here's what you need to do, per the book The Longevity Prescription.

1. Eat minimal saturated fats. Eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 veggies, and unprocessed grains, beans or other fiber-rich foods daily.
2. Exercise 5x a week: 2 resistance + 3 aerobic sessions
3. BMI under 25.
4. Sleep soundly 7-8 hours a night and nap 20-30 mins a day.
5. Be in a marriage with someone you trust and love and are intimate with.
6. Get on with your kids, siblings and extended family.
7. Maintain active long term friendships with people you care about.
8. Interact daily with people, in person, by phone and online. Go out 3x a week with friends or family.
9. Make 1+ new friend a year, and communicate regularly with them.
10. Avoid depression and anxiety, don't relive unhappy moments and maintain a hopeful attitude for the future.
11. Challenge yourself to learn new things.
12. Keep up with events, consume media, and know what's going on in your community.
13. Find simple joys in life, and laugh heartily.
14. Stretch your mental muscles regularly; reading, games.
15. Don't harbor grievances, adapt, accept losses and look to new challenges.
16. Employ stress reduction strategies; yoga, golf, meditation etc.
17. Recognize the good in aging; wisdom, experience, perspective and patience.
18. See the doctor regularly for checkups and tests.
19. Take a multivitamin and a children's aspirin daily (81mg).
20. Take prescribed medication as directed.
21. Do self-exams; breast and testicular lumps, moles and birthmarks
22. Get glasses or a hearing aid if you need them.
23. Wear a seatbelt and bicycle helmet and use sunblock.
24. Don't smoke.
25. Drink alcohol only in moderation; men 3 oz, women 1.5 oz a day.

I've read a few books on this subject now, and this sums up the best knowledge we have so far. As much as this is a recipe for longevity, its also a GREAT recipe for an enjoyable life. The point here is youth extension, as much as life extension. There's a big difference. Who cares about living to 90 if the last 20 years find you fighting illness constantly. Live life like LaLanne, actively, with purpose and with people who you love around you.

Here's some more advice from Methuselah Foundation longevity experts.

Heroes: Jack LaLanne

In 1936 Jack opened a gym, and grew his company to 200+ gyms which became Bally's.  Here's Jack in his show from the 50's.  

and here he is at 95.

and here's a great article on him in Washington Post.

He's an inspiration.  I love his energy and passion for helping people find health and fitness.  He's one of my heroes. 

Lifelines: The things you own end up owning you

Blind people have more sensitive hearing. 

When you close your eyes and drink wine, you can taste more. 

It would seem that our senses attenuate each other.

How about our sensitivity in relationships?  I had a moment of realization a few weeks back.  I realised that the feeling of owning goods attenuated my sense of relationship, to some small extent.  I've known for a while that I feel better, owning less.  But now that we're in Prague for a couple of months, with the bare minimum of 'stuff,'  I think Irena and I are ever so slightly more sensitive to each other because we're not bothered about 'stuff.'   We're renting a very nice two bedroom furnished apartment, with a great view of the Autumn woods, just a few minutes tram ride from beautiful Prague.  We have our laptops, two suitcases of clothes, and that's it.  IT FEELS GREAT!  All we have to care about, is each other. 

Here's the view from our window, showing the first snowfall of the season.  It was just cold enough for snow, but not cold enough to settle at all.

Studies on happiness around the world agree that the people in countries like Nigeria, El Salvador and Colombia are happier than people in the USA and UK.  Why?  I'd surmise, partly because they don't have so much 'stuff'' and they focus more on their family and community.  They can generally rely less on their governments and personal financial wealth to support them, so they focus more on the family, partly as a matter of survival.  Their very existences depend on having a close support network in many cases and as a (very significant) side benefit of them spending more time with family and friends, and less time pawing over their stuff, they're happier. 

Just a thought. - Mark :-)

Lessons For Living Longer

Dan Buettner's featured in this months National Geographic Adventure issue. Dan is an endurance cyclist who has taken to living in parts of the world that have an uncanny number of centenarians. Okinawa, Sardinia, The Greek island of Ikaria, Costa Rica, California, are pretty good places to be if you want to extend your youth, and your life expectancy.

Apparently, booze is ok, in moderation. Pork is good, because pigs are close to humans genetically there may be proteins in the meat that help repair arterial damage. In short, his rules are... Move and stay active. Have a purpose in life. Take breaks. Don't overeat, eat till you're 80% full and then stop. Eat greens. Drink a glass of red wine a day, preferably Sardinian. Stay social and surround yourself with family, and people you love. Wise words. Noted.

I just picked up his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest.  It would be nice to have the wherewithall to be able to to converse with my great great grandkids, and be in good enough physical condition to not drool while talking with them.