World Wide Web | Life expectancy and health | Following on from our previous post on differences in life expectancy, another survey was published recently that the majority of people in the uK would be happy to live to the age of 83, while only a quarter of us would like to live to 100.
Getting the congratulatory birthday card from the monarch was probably something of a rare occurrence in earlier times. But these days given the advances in medical technology and better health advice available from the internet - it's a fair bet that the number of centenarians will only increase in the coming decades. By how much is anyone's guess - but if these things reach an exponential track, then the concept of an ageing society could change into a reality where people post-retirement make up a very big segment of the populace.
What age do you want to live to? It's a difficult question, really, since there's never an ideal time to shuffle off this mortal coil. But given that longevity and good health are inextricably linked, the desire to have a 'good innings' is undoubtedly connected to a healthy attitude to life.
Things that could definitely help us live longer include all the usual health commands: don't smoke, keep alcohol intake well within the recommended amounts, eat your vegetables, and do on. But what else can we do to ensure a long and happy life? Things to think about would include:
- looking into the psychology of positive thinking. By many accounts positivity can have a real effect
- being mindful not just of diet, but looking at the diets of long living nations such as Japan and seeing what we could learn
- looking at the benefits of private medical insurance and what it can do in terms of prompt treatment and quality of healthcare.
- taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing that takes in everything from mental health and stress management to new ways of learning and developing.
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