What's the Secret to Reaching 100yo?

Have you ever thought about living to be 100yo?  I'm not talking about being kept alive on some machine but rather really living life to its fullest?  We've been dramatically improving our odds over the last century or so.  But what really separates these centenarians apart from the rest of us?  What's their secret(s)?

Earlier this week, WSJ's Smart Money pointed out a study published last month in which UnitedHealthcare asked 100 centenarians (along w/300 Baby Boomers 50-55yo) what makes them tick.  The current generation of twenty-somethings didn't invent social networking, although they certainly made it a bit easier to extend your reach.  In fact, both Baby Boomers & centenarians communicate w/friends & family (remember that advertising phrase?) daily.  And during these interactions, they both laughed regularly - after all, it's your attitude that counts, since there are so many things we can't change.

And as I've been harping on my residents to educate their patients, nutrition & exercise are key.  But apparently so is some type of "spiritual" activity, not necessarily religious.  What really caught my eye was the disparity in sleep.  Less than 2 in 5 Baby Boomers slept more than 8 hours a day while more than two-thirds of the centenarians did.  But lest you fall in to the correlation proves causation trap, remember that this telephone interview only serves to develop hypotheses (although more sleep does sound like a nice goal).

One last obvious point of difference: most Baby Boomers work at a job every day while less than 1 in 5 centenarians still do.  I guess that's one of the perks of making it to 100!

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