Sporting life
Take up a sport, suggests Dr. Goldberg. Almost any sport will do, he says. Recruit some friends to play with on a regular basis. And chances are good that you’ll still be living the sporting life all the way into your seventies, if not beyond.
A team of Swedish researchers studied the effects of regular activity throughout life on the physical ability of 233 men at age 76. The volunteers were asked to describe their involvement in competitive sports, recreational sports, occupational physical work, and household work as well as their means of transportation during five periods of their lives, beginning at age 10. The men who had the highest levels of activity after age 35 were the most mobile at 76. And the best activity for ensuring that you’ll still be brisk at three-quarters of a century is playing recreational sports.
Regular physical activity has been linked to lower rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer, anxiety, and depression. Men who get their duffs in motion for close to a half-hour most days of the week actually have about half the risk for heart disease that sedentary men can expect.
It’s never too late to start. A study of almost 10,000 men found that those who became fit during a five-year period had about half the risk of dying from any cause compared to those who stayed out of shape. “Even making small changes like walking briskly to the bus stop, mowing the lawn without a riding mower, and climbing the stairs at work can make a difference,” says Dr. Goldberg. On the other hand, by choosing absolute inactivity, you can shave almost six years off your life span, according to findings from a study of 27,000 people by researchers in California.
Finally, studies show what we’ve known since the days of the recess bell: Taking time to go out and play can sure take the edge off a stressful day.
Curiouser and Curiouser
Researchers from Menlo Park, California, who conducted a five-year study of 1,118 men between ages 60 and 86, found that those who were still alive at the end of the study had significantly higher levels of curiosity than those who had died during the same time.
Curiosity is not only a driving force that keeps your gray matter stoked, but maintained over time, it can also help you find suitable ways to cope through the myriad challenges that life throws your way as you age, says Gary E. Swan, Ph.D., director of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) in Menlo Park. “Older adults should attend as many continuing education classes as possible because they provide the environmental support for you to solve problems creatively, to try new things, and to listen to new ideas,” Dr. Swan advises.
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