Recently in the wonderful and long-lived (no coincidence here) program Informe Semanal on TV 1 of Televisión Española they showed a wonderful report. Actually, it was one of many, because if there is one thing I would highlight about this program is precisely its quality.

In this case, the report talked about life expectancy and how people over 100 years old have ceased to be a rara avis and have become almost commonplace. In fact, Spain in particular is one of the eight countries in the world with more people in this age range, Japan being the undisputed king in this statistic. I guess the inhabitants of Okinawa fatten this statistic a lot.

There is an abundance of scientific literature about what kind of lifestyles help us to have a longer life expectancy and, not only that, but to arrive in the best possible conditions at advanced ages. Diet is a fundamental element, perhaps the pillar around which everything else revolves, but it is by no means the only one. When we talk about healthy lifestyle habits we usually refer to our physical health, but what about our emotional and mental health?
Regular physical exercise, drinking water, staying active at different levels, cultivating enriching personal relationships, staying away from intoxicating habits such as tobacco or alcohol, as well as learning new things and introducing changes in our daily life are some of the keys to take into account in our way of living. And reading, reading a lot, is one of the few activities that, according to neuroscience, activates all areas of our brain at the same time.

In successive articles, I will break down each of them in more depth. In this one that you are reading right now, I want to highlight what caught my attention yesterday from this report. On the one hand, the general good condition of the people they interviewed in this age group. On the other hand, the common link between them of this active life until the end. And finally, their attitude, far from defeatist pessimism and fear of death, an attitude brimming with enthusiasm and desire to live because, while they are here, they will enjoy it with all five senses.

I loved how one of them, a prolific 85-year-old artist, commented the following (approximately, because I don’t remember the literal words) in relation to his sculptures: «what you can tell when you are over eighty years old you can’t tell when you are younger. Besides, I am in a moment in which what I do I want to do well, not because of the possible benefits or opinions of others, but because it is good in itself, intrinsically».

Do you think that at a certain age we free ourselves from certain ties? I would love to hear your opinion. Leave your comment below or tell me about it via email or my social networks.

Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

THANKS FOR READING

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