Most people say they want to live to a ripe old age. But that isn’t really true. What people really want is to live to a ripe, old age in good mental and physical health. Some of us actually get to live this dream. These folks are known as “superagers” and they make it well into their 80s not just in decent physical shape, but also with minds at least as sharp as people 30 years younger.
How do they manage it? That’s the question Northwestern University researchers have been aiming to answer with a 25-year long study. It examined the brains and lifestyles of almost 300 superagers.
As you’d expect, a quarter century of data shows it really helps to be born with lucky biology. The neuroscientists found a number of physical differences between the brains of superagers and the average person. There isn’t much non-scientists can do with that information. We have to make the most of the brains bequeathed to us by our DNA.
Luckily, the researchers also discovered one big difference in behavior sets apart superagers who are still going strong into their 80s and beyond. It’s something any of us can adopt in our own lives.
Superagers’ brains are different
When you scan or posthumously autopsy the brains of superagers, they look different than average brains, according to Sandra Weintraub, a Northwestern psychology professor involved in the study. Normal brains generally show some accumulation of the plaques and protein tangles that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Superagers’ brains are largely free of them.
The study also revealed that while the outer layer of the brain, known as the cortex, tends to thin out as we age, it stays thick in superagers. They also have a different mix of cell types in their brain.
“Our findings show that exceptional memory in old age is not only possible but is linked to a distinct neurobiological profile. This opens the door to new interventions aimed at preserving brain health well into the later decades of life,” Weintraub commented to Northwestern Now.
That’s of huge interest in scientists looking for treatments that can help us stay healthier longer. Weintraub calls the findings ““earth-shattering for us.” But for those of us without medical degrees, there’s little we can do with this information. You can’t vacuum rogue proteins out of your brain or plump its cortex. (Though other studies do suggest sleep helps to wash proteins and other gunk out of your brain, so maybe don’t skimp on shuteye.) And so are their social lives
Further complicating those looking for an easy takeaway from the research, the superagers also didn’t have a lot of lifestyle factors in common. Some were athletes. Others, confirmed loafers. Some drank. Others smoked. They ate different things and kept different habits. But there was one big exception. Superagers, it turns out, tend to be incredibly social.
“The group was particularly sociable and relished extracurricular activities. Compared to their cognitively average, same-aged peers, they rated their relationships with others more positively. Similarly, on a self-reported questionnaire of personality traits they tended to endorse high levels of extraversion,” the researchers reported in recent paper published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Want to be a superager? Focus on your relationships
This might come as a surprise to laypeople who think aging well is all about HIIT workouts and plentiful kale. But it likely isn’t a huge shock to other scientists. The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been minutely tracking the lives of some 724 original participants (and now some of their descendants) since 1938.
It discovered the biggest predictor of a long, healthy life isn’t biological. It’s social. The better the quality of your relationships, the more likely you are to age well. And while you have only indirect influence on things like your cholesterol level and brain health, you are directly in control of your social life.
It’s something we can and should prioritize, according to study director Robert Waldinger. “We think of physical fitness as a practice, as something we do to maintain our bodies. Our social life is a living system, and it needs maintenance too,” hetold the Harvard Gazette.
The effects of keeping up your social ties aren’t minor. Neuroscientist Bryan James, author of another study on aging and social contact summed up his findings this way: “Social activity is associated with a decreased risk of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment, and that the least socially active older adults developed dementia an average of five years before the most socially active.”
Keeping up with friends helps with healthy aging. But so does keeping up with learning. Research has shown a strong link between keeping your brain active and maintaining cognitive performance deep into your later years. One study found that just joining a class to learn a new skill or hobby improved brain performance as if subjects were 30 years younger. Another one, done at Stanford, found no cognitive decline at all until retirement and beyond if you stay mentally active. Are you getting your 5-3-1?
All of which suggests that staying social and mentally engaged is one of the most impactful moves you can make if you dream of becoming a superager yourself. The basic takeaway when it comes to mental function and aging is, use it or lose it.
But experts have offered more detailed guidance too. Harvard-trained social scientist and author Kasley Killam, for instance, has suggested the “5–3–1 rule:”
Spend time with five different people a week. This could be anyone from your gym buddy or book club bestie to the person the next pew over at church.
Nurture three close relationships. Equally important is maintaining tighter bonds with three of the people closest to you, usually family and dear friends.
Aim for one hour of social interaction a day. “That doesn’t have to be all at once. It could be 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there,” Killam explained to Business Insider. You can also combine social time with other activities, walking the dog with a neighbor, say.
Even just chatting on the phone can have more of an impact than many people suspect. “According to a recent study in the U.S., talking on the phone for 10 minutes two to five times a week significantly lowered people’s levels of loneliness, depression, and anxiety,” Killam reports in Psychology Today. Change what you can influence
The bad news from science is that superagers really are different physically. Their brains have biological quirks that help them stay sharp longer. There’s no way, unfortunately, to borrow that magic. But there is something else that sets superagers apart which you can steal.
It’s not a diet or exercise plan. It’s a love for getting out and seeing other people and learning new things. It turns out the more you maintain your social connections and mental stimuli, the more likely you are to get just not more years. But more healthy, active, and sharp years.