The Longevity Strategy: How to Live to 100 Using the Brain-Body Connection

by David Mahoney

Overview

A wise and compelling guide . . . the true fountain of youth.—Dr. Stephen R. Covey author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The acclaimed life plan for good health, fulfilling relationships, and financial security

The brain-body connection is the interaction among three factors: the health of your brain, your attitude, and your physical health. In this breakthrough guide to a longer, better life, authors David Mahoney and Richard Restak, M.D., draw on state-of-the-art brain-body research to demonstrate the vital importance of handling stress properly, lifelong education and mental activity (use it or lose it!), the social connection, physical exercise, and rearranging your brain's hardwiring toward optimism. Featuring 31 practical, essential tactics, The Longevity Strategy is a user's manual for the best years of your life.

"This book brings us good news: the more we use our brains, the more likely we need not retire." — James Watson, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine

"I learned the hard way about the validity of the brain-body connection. The Longevity Strategy will make it a great deal easier for you to learn just what it means, too."—Mike Wallace

"Superb . . . chock full of practical scientific knowledge that can help one become and stay healthy, wealthy, and wise."—Bart Kosko, Ph.D., author of Fuzzy Thinking

"Intelligent, witty, and informative."—Leon Cooper, Ph.D., winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620456040
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	03/01/1999
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

DAVID MAHONEY is the chairman of the Charles A. Dana Foundation, the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, and the European Dana Alliance for the Brain, organizations for public education about the brain whose members consist of eight Nobel Prize laureates and more than 200 of the world's most honored scientists conducting brain research today. RICHARD RESTAK, M.D., a practicing neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Brain and other popular books, which have sold close to five million copies.

Table of Contents

GET THE LONGEVITY ATTITUDE.
Start looking forward to living to 100 years of age or older.
The twenty-first century will be the age of the centenarian.
Discard Negative Stereotyped Thinking About Aging.
Assume the odds are in your favor.
If we all discard our sterotyped ideas about aging, the question about longevity comes down to this: Is it reasonable to plan to live to be 100?
What are the odds?
Develop the Correct Mental Attitudes now to Improve Your Chances of Being a Centenarian.
THE LONG-LIVING BRAIN.
Start learning now as mush as you can about your brain.
While we wll live longer than any generation in history, the major advances in longevity in our lifetime are going to come from brain research.
Learn to Foresee Consequences: Pace Yourself.
Use It or Lose It.
Take Active Measures now to Combat Disuse Atrophy.
Learn to handle stress.
Your brain alertness and longevity are going to depend on how well you handle stress.
Develop an optimistic attitude toward life.
Optimists not only live better, they also live Longer.
Try to Modify Personality Traits Known to be Associated with Early Death and Disability.
Try to Develop and Express a Healthy Sense of Humor.
Be proud of your brain.
As you grow older, your brain performs better in the areas that are most important for success in the last third of your life.
Nourish Your Brain Through a Lifetime of Education.
Because the likelihood of becoming a centenarian depends on how successfully scientists can cure Alzheimer's disease, stroke, heart disease, and cancer, learn as mush as you can about preventing these obstacles to longevity.
USE YOUR BRAIN FORLONGEVITY.
Life is not a spectator sport; step out of the stands and do something now to increase your chances for a long life and change our national attitudes toward aging.
Invest in Your Family Dimension.
Build in a backup plan; diversify your career from the very beginning.
Take Advantage of Your Opportunity to Wind Up a Millionaire.
Uplift yourself by doing some good for others.
Dedicate yourself to making a contribution to society.
Nurture Enlightened Self-Interest.
Play to Win.
Spice Up Your Life with Risk.
Flex your brain.
As we grow older, we have to define our new standards for success.
Develop a flair for dealing with this change.
Never retire.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill: Never, never, never retire.
Change careers, do something entirely different, but never retire.
Become Computer-Literate and Learn to Use E-Mail Lest You lose touch.
Don't turn to the obituary page first.
Loss is part of life.
As we age, our friends and relatives may die or become disabled, but depression is not a natural response to such losses.
DO RIGHT BY YOUR BODY.
Set priorities and stick to them, especially in regard to maintaining physical fitness.
In the long run, it's the best, most efficient strategy for a potential centenarian.
Eat for tomorrow.
Establish eating habits that will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life.
Start your longevity program now, and do It one small step at a time.
Think of the possibilities.
Why stop at 100?
Why can't humans live forever?
Don't wait for a "magic bullet." There is no such things as a fountain of youth.
Despite the promise of genetic research and other potential biological extenders of longevity, don't neglect proven aids to living longer.
Don't be fooled into thinking longevity can be found in a bottle.
Keep up with research.
Almost daily, scientific research is turning up findings relevant to longevity.
It may well find application in your own lifetime.
CONCLUSION: Enjoy the "The Last of Life, for Which the First was Made." A Special Acknowledgment by David Mahoney to Dana Alliance Members.
Bibliography.
Index.

Editorial Reviews

Mahoney, a business figure and the nation's foremost layman involved in brain research, and Restak, a neurologist and neuropsychiatrist, show how to take advantage of the connection between the brain and the body to lead a longer, better life. They explain the importance of handling stress, lifelong mental activity, social connections, physical activity, and optimism in longevity, and present a life plan for achieving a sound mind and body, a social support system, and financial security. Includes a foreword by William Safire, columnist for the . Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

* "A wise and compelling guide for anyone who wishes to live a longer, healthier, happier life. The true fountain of youth."—Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"I learned the hard way about the validity of the braid-body connection. The Longevity Strategy will make it a great deal easier for you to learn just what it means, too." —Mike Wallace

"Eloquent and vivid. . . . You should read and adopt The Longevity Strategy. It could add years to your life."—Daniel Tosteson, M.D., Dean Emeritus, Harvard Medical School

From the Publisher