Breaking the age code

Researchers continue to seek answers on how to extend our lives. What are the factors that contribute to people living to age 100 or longer?

Recently, Becca Levy, who holds a Ph.D., recently released “Breaking the Age Code.” From her studies, she shares how our beliefs about aging determine how long and well we live.

A code refers to a set of standards or rules established for safety and protection. Levy focuses on a revolutionary paradigm shift about how we think about aging. The research results show how our mindset and beliefs shape our behaviors. If you think and operate like you are old, you become what you think about each day. The challenge to you and me is to “fight the scourge of ageism.”

JoAnn Jenkins, the CEO of AARP, published “Disrupt Aging” in 2016, which showed a bold new path to living your best life at every age. Comments about disrupting aging stated, “the author doesn’t just challenge the stereotypes of aging, but she provides productive, meaningful and purposeful ideas on how to do it.”

There is emphasis in the book on living a life of engagement, connection and possibility. At the end of the book, there is an Action Plan.

My library is full of books on How to Live to Age 100. Each author has taken a different approach. Charles Inlander and Marie Hodge produced “100 Ways to Live to 100” (1972); George Burns wrote “How to Live to Be 100 or More” (1983); Rick Warren