Coffee’s Surprising Perk
Coffee drinkers expect a quick, short-term boost from their cup of joe, but a new study suggests that drinking coffee may have long-term health benefits as well. Researchers tracked the diets of more than 47,000 female nurses for multiple decades beginning in the early ‘70s. A positive correlation was found between the amount of caffeine the women consumed (typically from coffee) between the ages of 45 and 60 years, and the probability of aging well. Read more in the New York Times.
A Long-Term Plan for Aging
Experts predict a crisis in long-term care as demand grows and the number of available workers decreases. The industry is facing multiple challenges, including a rapidly aging population, the potential for an even more pronounced labor shortage due to punitive immigration policies, and cost-of-care increases equaling as much as 10 percent for some services. Furthermore, according to a recent poll, significant numbers of adults have misconceptions about long-term care coverage, and only a small percentage have an assisted living plan in place. How do you assess the likelihood of needing long-term care, and what options are available to you? The NYT offers some thoughts.
Read the Script
Become a Citizen Archivist! If you’re of a generation that can read cursive (a vanishing skill as penmanship is no longer taught in many schools), the National Archives Catalog needs your help. Millions of documents written in longhand—ranging from JFK assassination records to case files on UFO sightings—need to be transcribed and tagged. Learn more, and how to get started at the link below.
What We’re Reading
Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity, by Dr. Eric Topol, explores the burgeoning study and science of longevity. Topol, a cardiologist and molecular scientist, initially posited that genetic makeup was the key to a longer lifespan. However, further research found that lifestyle factors—including diet, exercise, and social connection—had a far greater impact on longevity. This revelation is welcome news, suggesting we all have some control when it comes to healthy aging. Read a review of the book at the Wall Street Journal.
What’s the Limit on Age Limits?
California Democrats, still reeling from the Presidential election, are exploring a mandatory retirement age for elected officials at the local and state levels. Notably, the specific age at which politicians would be required to retire has not yet been determined. While there’s been an unfortunate history of party leaders staying in office too long, is a blatantly ageist policy really the answer? Read more about what the Democrats, and others, think about age limits.
What We’re Watching
“Aging in America: Survive or Thrive,” a new documentary airing this month on PBS, is based on the groundbreaking book, “Why Survive? Being Old in America,” by gerontologist and activist Dr. Robert Butler (originator of the term “ageism”). The film takes a critical look at how older Americans have fared in the 50 years since Butler’s book was published. While some progress has been made, our elders deserve better, much better.
Grey Matter Matters
It’s critical to support brain health at every stage of life. Experts offer advice for improving and preserving cognitive wellbeing, beginning as children (focus on good nutrition and sleep), and extending through the teens (be aware of potential mental health and anxiety issues), midlife (pay attention to vascular health), and older adulthood (stay socially engaged). Read all of the recommendations at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maybe, Don’t Come In From the Cold
New research found that cold-water immersion (14°C/57.2°F) has positive effects on cellular repair and resistance. Subjects, exposed for one hour daily, showed an increase in a critical biological protective mechanism after just one week. Read more about the (limited) study, and the link between cold exposure and longevity at SciTechDaily.
A Vaccine to Fight Dementia?
It might already exist. Advanced research conducted by Stanford Medicine found that the shingles vaccine may, in fact, do double duty: treating its intended target, and offering protection against developing dementia, lowering the risk by as much as 20%. The findings support a nascent medical hypothesis that viruses impacting the nervous system can negatively affect cognitive functioning. Read more about the groundbreaking study at Stanford News Center.
Get tickets for the Boomers vs Zoomers Celeb Trivia Night on April 9
Hang out with the indefatigable Janet Fonda
Bring generations together to build community
Save Democracy (while having fun)
The Ultimate Aging Flex
Exercise has long been acknowledged as critical to healthy aging. However, older adults, especially those in their mid-60s and beyond, should refocus their routines to emphasize three key functions: balance, flexibility, and strength. The latter is perhaps most important as muscle mass starts to decline around age 50. Experts also advise that older adults need to exercise more frequently to see the same benefits as those realized by younger adults. Read more about how to switch up your workouts as you age, and why it’s never too late to start.
Primed and Ready
“This seems less like a twilight thing and more like a ‘go girl, kick ass’ thing—which is good because I’m not done.” Jane Fonda, longtime aging well champion, at age 87, strongly declaring she still has plenty to do, upon accepting the Life Achievement Award at the 31st Annual SAG Awards on Sunday night.
Fonda also noted she did one of her most successful movies in her 80s and predicted she’ll be doing her own stunts in action movies when she’s in her 90s.
Her fiery and inspiring speech challenged the status quo. As the New York Times quoted Fonda, “...We are in our documentary moment. This is it. And it’s not a rehearsal.”
Going Deep
The documentary, “The Last of the Sea Women” explores the lives of haenyeos, the mostly older women (typically in their 70s), who sustain the ancient, yet dying, practice of gathering seafood from the reefs and sea floor surrounding their home off the coast of South Korea. They make between 100 and 300 dives per day, often in cold and challenging conditions. While the work is tough, the women are well respected and admired, and enjoy a position of distinction in local society—an anomaly in our #ageist world. Streaming on Apple TV+.
Are Older Workers the Key to AI Adoption?
New research found that – contrary to popular assumptions – midcareer and mature workers can be an asset in the successful rollout of AI tools. Generation, a global workforce nonprofit, identified a group of older “power users” who are significantly ahead of the curve in effectively implementing AI. Why have these individuals been successful? According to Generation, adoption requires not only technological expertise, but the ability to align AI with human values and knowledge, the latter being a strength of experienced employees. The organization further suggests that pairing younger and older workers would make an effective, intergenerational dream team, with the greatest likelihood of constructively deploying AI. Read more about the findings in Harvard Business Review.
Healthy Aging 2025: Mind and Body
Attend the Stanford Center on Longevity’s second annual healthy aging conference, May 5, 2025 (in-person and via Zoom). Leading experts on nutrition, fitness, social connection, health tech, and wellness, will share the latest research, innovations, and best practices to support a longer, healthier life. For more information and registration details, follow the link below.
Your Age Could Be Your Edge
Katerina Stroponiati is a venture capitalist with a unique approach to investing. Her singular - and contrarian - criterion for funding early-stage tech companies? Founders must be at least 50 years old. Stroponiati believes that wisdom, experience, connections, and credibility – characteristics most often associated with older professionals – are the intangibles critical to successful launches. Read more about her Brilliant Minds fund, and key research that supports her approach.
Nature vs Nurture
A healthy lifestyle can take you only so far. Research shows that eating right, exercising often, and otherwise adopting healthy habits can extend the lifespan—to about 80, or even 90 years of age. After that, genetics are likely the most significant factor. Do you have any centenarians in your family? Read the NYT article to find out more about longevity influences.
Finding Time to Grieve
What we’re reading: “Memorial Days,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks. A spare tale of marriage and mourning, Brooks’s memoir explores the trauma of her husband’s sudden death at age 60 (he was Tony Horowitz, also a renowned literary figure), and the all-encompassing loss she experienced after 35 years of marriage. The chapters alternate between the immediate, frenzied aftermath of Horowitz’s death, and three years hence, when Brooks decamps to a remote corner of her native Australia to finally find the time, and space, to fully grieve. Read the Wall Street Journal’s review of this moving narrative of sorrow and remembrance.
Debbie Harry: Still a Badass Rock and Roller
Blondie frontperson Debbie Harry, the iconic rock and roller of the 1970s and 80s (and beyond) doesn’t seem too different these days from the person she was back then: bold, brash, and full of vitality. She is currently the focus of Gucci’s Cruise 2025 collection, which was shot by photographer Nan Goldin for the We Will Always Have London campaign. To catch up on more of what she’s up to, follow the link below to The Times.
How Class Divide Impacts Aging and Longevity
Tune in to Columbia University’s upcoming aging seminar, Disconnected - The Growing Class Divide in Civic Life. Sam Pressler, Practitioner Fellow at Columbia University, will lead discussion on how social assets like friends, education, religious/community groups, and other forms of support–often dictated early on by level of education–can impact longevity and well being.
Follow the link below to register for the session, which takes place February 19, from 11am - 12pm ET.