Surprising longevity secrets from centenarians : NPR

A new survey of centenarians finds people who make it to 100 are not letting the grass grow under their feet. Many have taken up habits that younger people may find surprising.

According to a survey of 100 centenarians from UnitedHealthcare, nearly half do some form of strength training at least once a week to keep muscles strong, 36% participate in stress relief activities such as meditation, 67% say they eat a healthy diet, and 42% report walking or hiking on a regular basis. About 30% say they still like to work in their garden.

It’s the combination of things centenarians are doing to stay engaged and active that’s impressive says Dr. Rhonda Randall, a geriatrician and the chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare. “It’s not just one thing,” she says. “What we can learn from these folks is that it’s a holistic approach” to aging, she says.

One striking finding is that most of the centenarians say they feel decades younger than their actual age, and many do not identify as “old.” Many describe a “gradual realization” of aging, Randall says, noticing small changes over time, such as needing more rest and more time to recover from physical activities. Some of the predictable changes include hearing loss, more physical aches and pains, a loss of independence and giving up driving.

Despite these setbacks, most centenarians surveyed say they enjoy life, with 85% saying they find it easy to laugh and have a sense of humor. “It’s being able to get out to my garden, sit and read a good book, or knit a new scarf for a grandchild. It’s about being able to do the things that make me happy without feeling worn out,” one survey participant wrote.

The survey also found 40% of the centenarians play video games regularly, while 27% have asked ChatGPT (or other AI platforms) a question, showing curiosity about new technology. And nearly half say they use social media to follow friends and family.

“When you’re young, every little problem feels like the end of the world. But when you’ve lived a long time, you realize that most worries pass,” another survey participant wrote. “You learn to let go of the small stuff and appreciate the little moments of joy,” pointing to the wisdom that 100 years of life can bring.

Two-thirds of the survey participants report staying close with family and friends, and having a “positive outlook” despite the trials and tribulations of aging. And the vast majority — four in five centenarians — report frequent visits or get-togethers with those they love, at least once a week, showing the importance of social connections.

“If you look at the communities that have the greatest levels of social connection, you’ll see lower rates of chronic conditions, and longer life expectancies,” says Randall.

Writer Ken Stern, founder of The Longevity Project, has documented some of the communities that benefit from strong social ties, ranging from Wayne County, Ky., to West Texas and the Bronx, in his book, Healthy to 100: How Strong Social Ties Lead to Long Lives. He finds one common ingredient in all these places are the institutions and practices that foster stronger connections among family, neighbors and friends.

He says the survey results fit with the growing body of evidence that staying connected and having a positive outlook can be beneficial for healthy aging.

“Turns out that people acquire a great deal of useful knowledge about how to stay healthy over the course of a century,” Stern says.

There’s a lot to learn from today’s centenarians, says Dr. Jonathan Rosand, co-founder of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Mass General Brigham in Boston. “They’re putting a lot of cognitive energy into taking care of themselves,” he says.

The UnitedHealthcare survey represents just a small sliver of the estimated 100,000 centenarians in the U.S. And at a time when thousands of baby boomers are turning 65 each day, the population of older adults is expected to surge, with more than 400,000 centenarians by mid-century.

Many factors play a role in longevity, including everything from genes, access to health care, income, and luck, too. But, Rosand says it’s possible to stack the odds in favor of healthy aging by paying attention to your daily habits.

“The core of successful aging is the lifestyle choices we make every day,” he says, everything from what you eat, how much you exercise, how you manage stress and what you do to stay connected and find purpose.

Rosand and his collaborators have published several studies that show how healthy lifestyle habits are linked to significantly lower risks of developing dementia and a host of age-related diseases. And a 2024 Lancet Commission report finds