I recently watched a BBC documentary on aging presented by Johnny Ball. One of the studies presented in the documentary was one performed by Dr Elen Langer in 1979 when she took a group of elderly volunteeers, all over the age of 75, back in time. They had to live like they were 20 years younger and they were taken to a timeless retreat were everything was exactly as it had been 20 years earlier. On arrival they had to take care of their own luggage and were fully expected to take care of themselves one hundred percent. After a week the group showed improved dexterity, increased joint flexibility, more energetic gait and were moving around at a noticably faster pace. Some of the men had put on weight and actually looked younger and some even had improved eye sight and hearing.
A winning strategy for longevity seems to be to feel and live like you are young, vibrant and healthy . Do you do this? Or are there factors in your environment that pulls you down? Factors that makes you feel old and slows down your walk?
"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." - Jim Rohn
Who do you hang out with and what do you talk about? Do you feel uplifted, optimistic and excited about life when you spend time with your friends? Do you leave the room with a youthful gait, feeling great about who you are, knowing that your friends have your back covered and you have theirs? If not, try to make room for change. Make room for positive change, positive people, positive experiences. To make room you have to let something go. Let go of negativity bit by bit. Negative environments, negative people, negative talk and find your community where you can thrive, live long and prosper.
A major factor for longevity is the sense of community, of belonging and having a purpose. Perhaps the test group of 1979 also felt a sense of community with like minded people during this week? If you have the right genes you can live long no matter what you eat, drink or smoke but if you're not that lucky (and that applies to most of us) you can try a low calorie diet and most importantly find a community if you're not already part of one. See my earlier post on Blue Villages.
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