Meaningful life at older ages – relationship with prosperity, health, biology | Hacker News Reader

Meaningful life at older ages – relationship with prosperity, health, biology

pnas.org

133 pointspseudolus16 comments

> We show that independently of age, sex, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status, higher worthwhile ratings are associated with stronger personal relationships (marriage/partnership, contact with friends), broader social engagement (involvement in civic society, cultural activity, volunteering), less loneliness, greater prosperity (wealth, income), better mental and physical health (self-rated health, depressive symptoms, chronic disease), less chronic pain, less disability, greater upper body strength, faster walking, less obesity and central adiposity, more favorable biomarker profiles (C-reactive protein, plasma fibrinogen, white blood cell count, vitamin D, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol), healthier lifestyles (physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, sleep quality, not smoking), more time spent in social activities and exercising, and less time spent alone or watching television.

In essence, this amounts to "spending time with friends/family" (said five different ways) and "staying healthy" (said nine different ways.)

Two related books that say much the same:

"The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6446928-the-depression-c... "Most Americans work long hours, eat on the fly, and lead increasingly sedentary, isolated lives. Alongside this lifestyle, depression rates have skyrocketed: approximately 1 in 4 Americans will suffer from major depression at some point in their lives. Where have we gone wrong? Dr. Stephen Ilardi sheds light on our current predicament and reminds us: our bodies were never designed for the sleep-deprived, poorly nourished, frenzied pace of twenty-first century life. In fact, our genes have changed very little since the days of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and are still building, in effect, Stone Age bodies. Herein lies the key to breaking the cycle of depression. Inspired by the extraordinary resilience of aboriginal groups like the Kaluli of Papua New Guinea (who rarely suffer from depression), Dr. Ilardi prescribes an easy-to-follow, clinically proven program that harks back to what our bodies were originally made for-and need. Here you can find the road back to lasting health by integrating the following 6 elements into your life: an omega-3 rich diet; exercise; plenty of natural sunlight; ample sleep; social connections; and participation in meaningful tasks that leave little time for negative thoughts-all things that our ancestors had in abundance.Already, The Depression Cure program has delivered dramatic results, helping even those who have failed to respond to traditional medications. Interweaving the stories of many who have fought-and won-the battle against this debilitating illness, this groundbreaking book can illuminate the path to lifting the fog once and for all for you or a loved one."

"The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest" https://www.bluezones.com/2016/11/power-9/ "To answer the question [of why some people live longer than others], we teamed up with National Geographic to find the world’s longest-lived people and study them. We knew most of the answers lied within their lifestyle and environment. (The Danish Twin Study established that only about 20% of how long the average person lives is determined by genes.) Then we worked with a team of demographers to find pockets of people around the world with the highest life expectancy, or with the highest proportions of people who reach age 100. ... We then assembled a team of medical researchers, anthropologists, demographers, and epidemiologists to search for evidence-based common denominators among all places. We found nine:

  Move Naturally ...
  Purpose ...
  Down Shift ...
  80% Rule ...
  Plant Slant ...
  Wine @ 5 ...
  Belong ...
  Loved Ones First ...
  Right Tribe ..."

Sort of, but the amount of correlation attached to a shit load of metrics attached to "staying healthy" (white blood cell count, eating fruifs/vegetables, waistline circumference, survey results) is pretty impreessive, especially after they project "spending time" to a single "worthwhile" metric.

> In essence, this amounts to "spending time with friends/family" (said five different ways)

Correlation != causation.

The key factor is likely to be stress. You can be either stressed or happy regardless of your social situation.

> and "staying healthy" (said nine different ways.)

This goes without saying.

Tldr: work well with and be around others, be healthy, and have lots money and you'll be happy later in life.

Could somebody please translate it to simpler English?

From reading the abstract, feeling that you are leading a worthwhile life means you are happier and healthier. Or possibly the other way around; it is confusing.

Big theory: being a worthwhile person attracts people to your circles and also means there is actually a reason to be healthier.

If your life is crap, why would people be friends with you? Why take care of your body if your life is crap?

>Why take care of your body if your life is crap?

So that your life is less crappy? You've gotta start somewhere, or not at all.

I think your basic point is correct, but misses the whole positive feedback loop part of the equation. You need momentum, which is difficult to get when you're going uphill in first gear, but the only alternatives to trying are accepting a crappy life or ending it, and those don't seem very appealing compared to living a non-crappy life.

Things like this are easy to theorize, but actually taking action when you have no decent paying job (or job at all), no friends, no lovelife, your family is just a bunch of psychos, and you are overall looking very unattractive, is hard. You can maybe start somewhere, but even after losing weight successfully, for example, your life still sucks. Why bother...

Why bother? Because even if your life still sucks it sucks _less_. The unattainability of a perfect life doesn't stop you from making incremental improvements. There's no real reason to do anything, of course. But you're here, living. Yesterday you decided to go to sleep and wake up again today, rather than ending it all. If today was worth living for you, tomorrow probably is too. Could tomorrow be better than today, even a little bit, if you pursued some course of action today? If so, why wouldn't you pursue that course of action? How much would your life improve over the next decade if you spent time incrementally improving it most days?

Fixing all of the problems in your life is probably not possible, but incremental improvements are entirely attainable, and they build up over time. Once you have momentum you can start shifting gears. You lost weight? Well great, now some of those superficial humans might be willing to befriend you...

> If your life is crap, why would people be friends with you?

Are you saying you can only be friends with successful people (or at least people with non-crap life)? For me, I'm friends with people who are inteligent, open-minded, funny and care about the friendship (so that they prioritize allocating time for it). I don't particularly care if their life is in order; in a way, if it's not and I can help them sort it out, it makes the friendship more meaningful.

The frequency of intersection of events in people’s lives depends on their “success” in life, hence the different “classes” in society. College, graduations, weddings, weekend outings, vacations, golf clubs, gyms, work environments, residential neighborhoods, etc.

It’s harder to meet and befriend people who you aren’t crossing paths with during the course of your life.

This kind of talk makes me happy to live in an european country where people of all walks of life can meet in every street, every gym and almost every neighborhoods.

Where I can have a chat with somebody without having any idea about their "success" and "class".

I wonder how much the "rat race" mindset correlates with depression, anxiety, cynicism...

I live in a rat race city and this mindset really only exists in the less dense areas. Never met anyone when I lived in the dense part of town who would think twice about speaking with me.

I think that from a certain point on disease chooses you, no matter how much one tries to “stay healthy” and all the associated tropes.

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