When it comes to age-related wellness, it seems to be a no-brainer. Surely someone in their triple digits is going to be far worse off than a person half their age, right? According to the results a recent survey of the wellbeing habits, preferences, and lifestyles of 100 centenarians (people aged 100 or above) compared to 300 people in their early fifties (known as baby boomers) if you want to look out for family wellness you might have to ask yourself ‘Am I healthier than a centenarian?’
Firstly, does your family always eat a balanced diet? 80% of the centenarians reported that they maintained a healthy diet close to every day, whereas only 68% of the baby boomers were able to make the same claim. Do you also get enough sleep every night? Only 38% of the boomers said they got the recommended seven or eight hours of sleep each night, even thought it has been linked to many positive health outcomes such as reduced levels of stress, better cardiovascular health, and a decreased risk for depression. The centenarians seemed to have a better grip on this, as 70% could boast they got plenty of sleep.
Do you laugh often? Though boomers won out on this one by 7%, 80% of the centenarians said they also appreciated the lighter side of life and laughed often. The groups also tied at 89% when they were asked whether they regularly communicated with friends and family, which lends further credence to the connection between a strong social support group and good health. The boomers also beat the centenarians on daily exercise levels (at 59% compared to 51% of the 100-club), and they both reported similar levels of walking and muscle-strengthening exercises, but curiously, more centenarians than boomers said that they supplemented their work-out regimes with mind/body/spirit activities such as Yoga, or Tai chi.
So are you healthier than a 100-year-old? You might cite the common wellness barriers of time, energy, illness or money, but even though the elderly are sometimes viewed as being more tired, ill and financially strained than their younger counterparts, less centenarians than boomers said that their ailments or purse strings got in the way of them leading a healthy lifestyle, and only 15% of centenarians claimed that they were too tired to make good choices on how to be healthier. The key is to look for ways to take advantage of the opportunities you do have, and you could live to be 100.
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