Sitting is the new smoking Archives

Worry less and live longer 2

Feb

9

2018

By the time you finish reading this, you may have lengthened your lifespan. How’s that for encouragement to read on? Let’s start with this question: do you worry about your health? Most people are concerned about leading a healthy lifestyle. They want to feel well, be fit and look good. As we get older we ...

Old and feeling it? Blame TV

Sep

22

2017

If you’re feeling your age, guess where you can put the blame? On TV. This is the finding of two new scientific studies. And you know how much My New Old Self relies on those two words “studies show”. TV + old people = bad news These studies show that television has a negative impact ...

Insights from the TV Guide

Apr

13

2017

I recently gained some new insights into aging from a rather unexpected source: the TV Guide. I’m talking about the magazine. I wasn’t clicking or scrolling through an online version or navigating the one on my TV screen. I was paging through the printed guide published monthly for subscribers of DSTV, featuring schedules of all ...

Are you a Superager?

Jan

12

2017

As a known sucker for the introductory phrase, “Studies show…” I have been studying yet another new study. It’s about a very small group of old people who the gerontological world has dubbed Superagers. This elite crowd are not just “good for their age” in the memory department. Their brains are measurably as sharp as ...

To be happier and healthier: retire! 3

Apr

6

2016

Do you want to improve your health, live longer and feel happier? Then retire. A new study shows that retirement is good for your health and wellbeing. When people stop work it makes them more active. They do less sitting, which readers of this column will know is a health risk. They even sleep better. ...

In Praise of Fidgeting

Oct

22

2015

I have often sung the praises of taking advice from our elders. Eat your vegetables – that turned out to be a good tip, proven by scientific studies to make you live longer. Get some fresh air. Go for a walk, preferably amongst greenery. Those are other oft-heard suggestions from parents and grandparents. Now this ...

Studies show… Duh! 4

Jul

30

2015

I love it when something I’m already doing turns out to be good for me. Especially now that I’m endlessly checking out advice on how to avoid all that bad stuff that comes with aging. My eyes are riveted by headlines such as “Chocolate protects against memory loss”. I never fail to click on links ...

What to do (more and less of) in 2015 2

Dec

30

2014

I figured out a few things in 2014 about how to improve life as I get older, which I aim to implement this year. So here are some suggested New Year’s Resolutions for older people: a list of what to do (more and less of) in 2015. Talk more, text less We don’t talk as much as we ...

Sitting is the new smoking? Stand up and live longer 6

Sep

12

2014

What’s the secret of a long life? You can’t open a newspaper or web page these days without finding some new anti-aging strategy. What to eat, how to exercise, when to sleep – scientists seem to be continually investigating what makes us live longer. There are so many studies there’s hardly time to read them ...