Easier said than done. For some people, sleeping is a major problem, particularly with advancing years.
Okawa, born in 1898 and great-great-grandmother to six, enjoys sushi. She became the world's oldest living person last year when the previous title holder, Jiroemon Kimura, passed away at the age of 116.
In a related news item, J. Craig Venter, a wealthy entrepreneur thinks he can cheat aging and death by resorting to his first love—sequencing genomes. On Tuesday, Dr. Venter announced that he was starting a new company, Human Longevity, which will focus on figuring out how people can live longer and healthier lives.
So there we have a conflict between the old and the new—a natural lifestyle, versus modern science.
If you've resolved to slow down your biological clock, try sitting less and moving more in the months ahead. Prolonged sitting is a significant risk factor for death from any cause. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine adds to mounting evidence that a sedentary lifestyle contributes to many deaths.
Daily movement of any kind burns calories and gives health benefits. Some people gain motivation from step monitors, and some are trying out the new high-tech activity monitors.
Evidence suggests that groups of people with longest life spans consume higher amounts of taurine. This amino acid is found in the highest quantities in grass fed beef, dairy, and wild caught seafood as well as sea vegetables, spirulina, and brewers yeast. Another important amino acid is arginine. The best way to get enough arginine is through a whole foods diet. There are plenty of foods that are a good source of this amino acid, such as grass-fed beef, nuts, spinach, lentils, whole grains, fermented soy and seafood.
But do we really want to live one hundred and sixteen years? In the way of an autumn leaf, I would prefer to wither and fall when I no longer function as an active person.