Growing Young: How Friendship, Optimism, and Kindness Can Help You Live to 100

by Marta Zaraska Narrated by Athena Karkanis

Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A smart, research-driven case for why optimism, kindness, and strong social networks will help us live to 100.

From the day her daughter was born, science journalist Marta Zaraska fretted about what she and her family were eating. She fasted, considered adopting the keto diet, and ran a half-marathon. She bought goji berries and chia seeds and ate organic food.

But then her research brought her to read countless scientific papers and to interview dozens of experts in various fields of study, including molecular biochemistry, epidemiology and neuroscience. What Marta discovered shattered her long-held beliefs about aging and longevity. A strong support network of family and friends, she learned, lowers mortality risk by about 45 percent, while exercise only lowers it by about 23 percent. Volunteering your free time lowers it by 22 percent or so, while certain health fads like turmeric haven't been shown to help at all. These revelations led Marta Zaraska to a simple conclusion: In addition to healthy nutrition and physical activity, deepening friendships, practicing empathy and contemplating your purpose in life can improve your lifespan.

Through eleven chapters that take her around the world, from catching wild mice in the woods of central England to flower arranging with octogenarians in Japan, from laboratories to "hugging centres," Marta embarks on an absorbing, entertaining and insightful journey to determine the habits that will have the greatest impact on our longevity.

Deeply researched and expertly reported, Growing Young will dramatically change the way you seek a longer, happier life.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

An unusually intriguing and useful read about how our psychology affects our longevity. If you care about the length and quality of your life but can’t stomach yet another diet or workout routine, this book is for you.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the TED podcast, WorkLife
 
“Finally, a lifestyle book that transcends diet and exercise as solutions for living longer. This well-researched book shows us the subtle power of community and connection as tools for a quest to live to 100.”  —Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones

“The more we learn about the human body, the more we realize how powerful the connection between happiness and health is. Research-based, practical and insightful, Growing Young makes this relationship come to life. A must-read.” —Shawn Achor, New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential and The Happiness Advantage

“Growing Young is one of the best books I have read on the topic of the mind and its interconnectedness with our body and other human beings.” —Emeran Mayer, author of The Mind-Gut Connection
 
“Friendship is the most important journey we ever venture on. Read Marta Zaraska’s Growing Young and find out why.” —Robin Dunbar, evolutionary psychologist and author of How Many Friends Does One Person Need?
 
“Growing Young is a smart, fresh take on longevity. Deeply researched, fascinating and engaging, it offers readers useful advice on how to maximize their lifespan, in easy, practical and unexpected ways.” —Joshua Becker, author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own
 
“Growing Young tells us how to have a long and happy life: Never stop learning and growing. Marta Zaraska’s recipes may come from the frontier of research, but it is based on such an elegant distillation of the science that Growing Young is as fascinating as it is persuasive.” —Richard Wrangham, professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University and author of The Goodness Paradox

“Marta Zaraska’s Growing Young shows that what matters most is what helps us live the longest! This accessible, well-researched, and thoughtful book is essential reading.” —Greg McKeown, author of the New York Times bestselling Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173345684
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

From the Introduction

In our modern, busy times, it’s no wonder that we prefer easily quantifiable longevity quick fixes. Many of us don’t have enough hours in a day to focus on all possible things that might influence health. I certainly don’t. Between full-time work and taking care of my daughter, there is little time left to think about cardiovascular exercises, organic foods, trying a ketogenic diet, worrying about whether to stop eating gluten, and so on. That is why in this book I prioritize longevity habits and focus on the things that matter the most if you want to live long. Number one? A committed romantic relationship, which according to some studies can lower your mor­tality risk by a staggering 49 percent. Second, having a large social network of friends, family, and helpful neighbours can reduce the probability of early death by about 45 percent. Third is having a conscientious personality (44 percent).

The benefits brought by the rest of the longevity interventions I describe in this book hover around 20 to 30 percent of mortality risk reduction and play a far greater role in your health than the paleo diet, your turmeric intake, or omega-3 fatty acids (volunteering—about 22 to 44 percent; omega-3s—no effects found). What’s more, all these things matter to your centenarian potential at least as much as does a veggie-loaded diet or a busy exercise schedule. Of course, it’s a tricky thing trying to compare mortality risks between studies. Studies differ in methodology, the time period when they were conducted, the populations tested (Americans, Japanese, Danish, and so on). I have based my calculations, whenever possi­ble, on the best of studies: meta-analyses and reviews published in respected peer-reviewed journals. Still, the numbers here should be treated as rough guides, not dogma.

To save you time, throughout this book I suggest solutions that marry classic health boosters such as nutrition and physical activity with mental and social efforts. I explain why mowing your elderly neighbour’s lawn may be better for your arteries than hitting the gym and why jogging with a friend, in synchrony, could have a higher longevity payoff than running alone (the synchrony is key here). As food goes, rather than gobbling your broccoli without much thought it’s more beneficial to eat it mindfully. And for a healthy oxytocin boost, try savouring your greens while looking deeply into your beloved’s eyes (research suggests a beloved dog might help, too).

From the perspective of mind-based longevity, becoming a cente­narian or raising one often means less work, not more. It means taking a back seat, worrying less, and buying less—fewer toys, fewer fitness gadgets, less organic food. It means letting kids play unsuper­vised, and letting them get dirty. It means easing up on yourself, spending more time with friends and family, and laughing more often—and the sooner you start, the better.

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