Here’s what experts say you should do to live to 100+ years old

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Getting old is good; being old AND healthy is better. An expert shares some tips on living as long as possible. And why not live up to 100 years old?

Please don’t smoke, and don’t drink (too much) alcohol; we already know that. Neither of those things is advisable if you hope to live to 100.

Increasing life expectancy
Apart from biological factors, which undoubtedly play an essential role, a healthy psyche and a stable social environment can increase life expectancy enormously. Work also plays a significant role. For example, people in the construction industry are at high risk of occupational accidents.

Millions of centenarians soon?
The increase in life expectancy (which is, after all, exceptionally unevenly distributed across the globe depending on the country and social class) is growing steadily. This increase is likely to accelerate even further, as forecasts indicate that there will be 3.7 million centenarians worldwide by 2050.

However, there is a physical limit to the steady increase in the maximum age we can reach. S. Jay Olshansky, professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says, “There is an upper limit to human life … you can’t live long without winning the genetic lottery,” she told the DailyMail.

But then, what’s the best way to live as long as possible? According to a study by Liz Mineo at Harvard, the more social ties we form and maintain, the more likely we are to live longer.

This conclusion, drawn from an 80-year study of 1,300 people, is supported by the Japanese example, where the large number of people living past 100 is in a context where family and friends remain particularly close throughout their lives.

Dr. Dilip Jeste, a neuropsychiatrist specializing in aging, says, “Social bonding has a greater impact on health and longevity than other elements such as the various diseases we try to treat and control.”