My mother recently turned 82. Biologically she is much younger–maybe by up to twenty years. It has been difficult for her to watch her friends decline in health and sometimes even die. Nevertheless, she is living with some enthusiasm. In a recent conversation, she observed that her male friends seem to age more quickly and have a very difficult time with growing old, far more so than her female friends.
I found that I agreed with her from my own experience, then I went searching for what the science said. Interestingly, it seems that women superficially age faster than men; collagen levels in the skin decline faster, so they tend to look older at any given age. However, the onset of “age related diseases” is delayed in women as compared to men.
Age related diseases are not an inevitable consequence of ageing, but rather a consequence of, primarily, lifestyle choices. Just because we have a gene that predisposes us to a particular disease does not mean that it is inevitable that we will develop that condition, such genes have to be activated. A major way of doing this is through how we live–our lifestyle. We all have mutated cells in our bodies. An ever decreasing number of us are able to destroy these cells through the actions of our immune system. An increasing number–up to 50% of people in some advanced western societies–are not able to destroy these cells, and they become cancerous growths. Estimates I have seen for cancers that can be attributed a genetic basis are between 15 and 25%. This means that from 75 to 85% of cancers are triggered by lifestyle factors. A significant fraction by any measure, but it more importantly gives us a measure of control.
S.E.X
Fortunately, it is never too late to make lifestyle adjustments that extend life and improve its quality. Linus Pauling, double nobel laureate and in later life founder of orthomolecular medicine, was seventy-four when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given six months to live. Throwing his scientific mind into researching his illness, he soon settled on an approach based on “massive” vitamin therapy and dietary adjustments. He lived for another 20 years, time which he spent promoting his approach to health and pointing out the inconsistencies of modern medicine.
The sooner you start the better, but it is seldom too late to improve the quality of your life and extend its length with lifestyle adjustments.
So for all of you who are ageing, I give you S.E.X.
Not the one you are thinking of, but rather the three sides of the triangle of life in order of importance: Sleep, Eat and eXercise.
For those of you who are on one or more medication(s) do not stop or vary your drugs without the guidance of your doctor. Some medical doctors are more receptive to lifestyle impacts on health than others. Ideally, find a doctor who is willing to work with you to adjust your doses as your condition improves, hopefully to the point where you no longer need the particular medication.
Matthew Walker in his groundbreaking book Why we Sleep, powerfully makes the case as to why and how sleep is central to life. Not sleeping will kill you, but as with most lifestyle choices, low and or poor sleep will kill you slowly and make living miserable on the way. There are innumerable benefits and almost as many negative effects of enough sleep versus too little. I give you three negatives–impaired cognition, inflammation and microbiome:
Memory loss, as sleep is necessary for the proper storing of memories
Inflammation in the body, a constantly active immune system which is at the core of most degenerative illnesses
Compromised gut microbiome, which causes many malfunctions, including that of the immune response–also a major contributor to degenerative illnesses
It becomes more difficult to sleep as we age. Modern life multiplies this by having us in a sleep deprived state for most of our lives, from adolescence onward.
How to Sleep:
First, set a sleep window of at least 8 hours. This is not the time you will be asleep, but it is the time you will try. Second, be consistent with your sleep window, same time to bed and so to rise. Third, wake up. You need light, preferably natural light on rising. This resets the circadian rhythm and so helps you to maintain your sleep window. Fourth, dim the lights at nightfall. Low wattage incandescent bulbs are best. Fifth, cut down on LCD screens at least two hours before bedtime–laptops, phones, tablets, TVs. Sixth, keep your sleep area dark and cool as best you can. Seventh, a fitness tracker can give you an approximation as to how well you sleep and help you to understand the best sleeping conditions. Eighth, sleep medication does more harm than good. Never go to bed drunk. I find a glass of red wine drunk rapidly right before bed beneficial; the science says this is not helping with good sleep, but every alternative I have seen is worse. In the absence of a perfect world I believe it to be the lesser of the evils. Ninth, quiet please. Tenth, an early afternoon nap, if possible, helps. Eleventh, Depend (an adult diaper brand, others are available). As we age, the bladder weakens, resulting in increasing numbers of trips to the toilet. Put on your diaper and sleep like a baby. Bonus point, leave the cat outside the bedroom, out of reach of any door or window on which he/she may scratch; without this all other points will fail.
How to Eat:
Eating provides us with the nutrients necessary to maintain bodily functions. Unfortunately, a wide range of substances can be ingested and serve the purpose of sustaining life. Many of them kill us slowly. I favour no particular diet, there are examples of people living on a wide variety of foods around the world. There are some things though which we eat to our peril.
How to eat? WHQ: When, How and Quantity. First, set an eating window. This will obviously
be outside your sleep window, and should be 12 hours minimum of not eating (you may need to work up to this). Stop eating at 8 PM and resume at 8 AM. If you feel “gassy” on rising, drink hot water before 8AM. Secondly, we have these lovely teeth not only for smiling, but to chew. Digestion begins in the mouth, and without proper chewing, the process is not begun and cannot be adequately completed in the gut. The gut microbiome once again raises its ugly head as proper digestion is impossible without the right balance in the gut. Thirdly, eat less. Focus on non processed foods without sugar added as far as you can. Lots of vegetables and good fats from sources as near to you as you can get, carbohydrates from as close to nature as possible and protein in moderation. Fourthly, eat the diet and things you are comfortable with some exceptions: no sugar added to anything (including coffee) and avoid anything processed as far as is practical. Fifthly, there’s no need to count calories; fill up on vegetables and fats of high quality (fish, eggs) if you feel hungry.
How to Exercise:
We evolved to move. Exercise is not something we do to look good; it is essential to our proper functioning. Its rightful place is in everything we do. You can start by standing, standing on one leg, then standing on one leg with your eyes closed. Walk as much as you can in your daily comings and goings, take the stairs, avoid direct routes. Use your body weight to stress your muscles with pushups and squats. Stretch and massage frequently throughout the day. Make eXercise a way of life.
Dudley ‘Tal’ Stokes is an athlete and entrepreneur representing Jamaica in 4 Winter Olympic Games between 1988 and 1998. His 14th place finish in the Lillehammer Olympics remains the best ever achieved by a black man. Through speaking, coaching and writing he continues to influence and inspire others. He can be found @ dudleystokes.com.
ps btw, sex does matter, an orgasm produces the most dopamine, a feel good hormone, of any natural activity. The close contact of intimacy , not restricted to, but certainly present in sexual contact, promotes longevity, as we age we have to let go of the more rigorous aspects, but this does not mean we need to forgo the benefits of sex.
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