More on How to live a long life….
Welcome to our health & self help blog.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Thursday, 9-14-2006
More on How to live a long life….
Tuesday’s news about longevity seemed to me to give some great tips on how to live a long life. Today we cover a couple of additional factors, besides the ones we wrote about in yesterday’s post, that may help account for the longevity in Colorado, Utah, Iowa, the Dakotas, & Minnesota -- & in the New England states in the top ten.
1. I’ve read that the divorce rate is quite a bit lower in the Dakotas, Iowa, & Minnesota than in the rest of the country. Colorado & Utah are high in Mormons who tend to build strong & stable families. From own observation, I’ve seen that the Dakotas, Iowa, & Minnesota tend to have functional & stable families.
And, though I don’t know New England well, I understand that it has had a tradition of stable communities that are high in civic participation going back to before the Revolutionary war in the 1700’s. And, from what I’ve seen, Minnesota has similar traditions.
You may not live in these places or want to -- or you may live in one of these states in a neighborhood that’s not like that – but it looks quite likely to me that to the extent you make an effort to make your own family functional, to treat your other family members well, & to spend time with them & talk with them, your chances of longevity increase.
The research on social networks that people have or don’t have is related to this because it shows that people with good social networks of friends & family tend to have much better health, including lower, & more desirable levels of blood pressure than people who don’t.
And, there’s even some studies that suggest that most people who wind up getting divorced would have been happier AND HEALTHIER if they had kept their marriages together & made more of an effort to improve or accept the things that went wrong.
Similarly, people who take an active interest in their community & participate actively in it, tend to develop good social networks personally as part of the process.
So, whether you do it with your family, the people where you worship, or your community, building your social networks will build your longevity.
And, the states where that happens more often, tend to have people who live longer.
2. Hawaii was the number one state; & I suspect that its diet with more fruits & fish & its climate with clean air & temperatures conducive to year-round outdoor recreation & exercise is largely why.
Hawaii’s mild climate also helps tend to prevent some illnesses & it definitely prevents things like freezing to death & harmful accidents due to ice & snow.
Interestingly, many of the other states in the top 10 have bitterly cold & snowy winters, many with below zero temperatures.
I suspect that one of the reasons for the higher longevity in states in the top 10 like; Colorado, Utah, Iowa, the Dakotas, & Minnesota -- & in the New England states in the top ten, is that the people & the communities that developed & survived there learned to be more prudent & responsible & to do intelligent preparation & prevention than the people do in states with less harsh conditions.
It seems to me that there’s no doubt that people who avoid life threatening risks & take precautions & preventative steps to prevent such things live longer than people who don’t.
The people in these states have winters that tend to teach that lesson well. And, apparently the people who live there learn those skills.
**************
Alzheimer’s disease & similarly severe kinds of senility also shorten life. Our next post has some fascinating, & apparently effective methods to treat such things.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Thursday, 9-14-2006
More on How to live a long life….
Tuesday’s news about longevity seemed to me to give some great tips on how to live a long life. Today we cover a couple of additional factors, besides the ones we wrote about in yesterday’s post, that may help account for the longevity in Colorado, Utah, Iowa, the Dakotas, & Minnesota -- & in the New England states in the top ten.
1. I’ve read that the divorce rate is quite a bit lower in the Dakotas, Iowa, & Minnesota than in the rest of the country. Colorado & Utah are high in Mormons who tend to build strong & stable families. From own observation, I’ve seen that the Dakotas, Iowa, & Minnesota tend to have functional & stable families.
And, though I don’t know New England well, I understand that it has had a tradition of stable communities that are high in civic participation going back to before the Revolutionary war in the 1700’s. And, from what I’ve seen, Minnesota has similar traditions.
You may not live in these places or want to -- or you may live in one of these states in a neighborhood that’s not like that – but it looks quite likely to me that to the extent you make an effort to make your own family functional, to treat your other family members well, & to spend time with them & talk with them, your chances of longevity increase.
The research on social networks that people have or don’t have is related to this because it shows that people with good social networks of friends & family tend to have much better health, including lower, & more desirable levels of blood pressure than people who don’t.
And, there’s even some studies that suggest that most people who wind up getting divorced would have been happier AND HEALTHIER if they had kept their marriages together & made more of an effort to improve or accept the things that went wrong.
Similarly, people who take an active interest in their community & participate actively in it, tend to develop good social networks personally as part of the process.
So, whether you do it with your family, the people where you worship, or your community, building your social networks will build your longevity.
And, the states where that happens more often, tend to have people who live longer.
2. Hawaii was the number one state; & I suspect that its diet with more fruits & fish & its climate with clean air & temperatures conducive to year-round outdoor recreation & exercise is largely why.
Hawaii’s mild climate also helps tend to prevent some illnesses & it definitely prevents things like freezing to death & harmful accidents due to ice & snow.
Interestingly, many of the other states in the top 10 have bitterly cold & snowy winters, many with below zero temperatures.
I suspect that one of the reasons for the higher longevity in states in the top 10 like; Colorado, Utah, Iowa, the Dakotas, & Minnesota -- & in the New England states in the top ten, is that the people & the communities that developed & survived there learned to be more prudent & responsible & to do intelligent preparation & prevention than the people do in states with less harsh conditions.
It seems to me that there’s no doubt that people who avoid life threatening risks & take precautions & preventative steps to prevent such things live longer than people who don’t.
The people in these states have winters that tend to teach that lesson well. And, apparently the people who live there learn those skills.
**************
Alzheimer’s disease & similarly severe kinds of senility also shorten life. Our next post has some fascinating, & apparently effective methods to treat such things.
posted by David at 1:00 PM
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