{"id":10485,"date":"2016-12-12T07:00:56","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T13:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=10485"},"modified":"2020-10-14T09:02:40","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T14:02:40","slug":"how-many-years-can-we-live-and-how-can-we-make-them-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2016\/12\/how-many-years-can-we-live-and-how-can-we-make-them-better\/","title":{"rendered":"How Many Years Can We Live, and How Can We Make Them Better?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Many Years Can We Live, and How Can We\"How<\/a> Make Them Better?<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Is\u00a0there\u00a0an\u00a0upper\u00a0limit\u00a0on\u00a0human\u00a0longevity?\u00a0Some scientists now say that 115 is as old as most of us could ever expect to be. Others aren\u2019t so sure there\u2019s a limit. Still other aging experts say that whether or not there are limits on how long people can live, quality of life is the most important thing. Here\u2019s a look at the latest thinking on human lifespans and senior quality of life.<\/p>\n

How old can we get?<\/h2>\n

Researcher Jan Vijg of New York\u2019s Albert Einstein College of Medicine made international headlines in October with his assertion that 115 is the average upper age limit for humans<\/a>.<\/strong> Using many years\u2019 worth of lifespan data from many countries, Vijg and his team determined that although average lifespans now are longer than in the past, there seems to be a plateau beyond which almost no one lives.<\/p>\n

Not all scientists agree with Vijg\u2019s study, which appeared in the online version of the science journal Nature. Some, like German researcher James Vaupel, say analysis of the lifespan data with different tools does not indicate a hard upper limit. Then there are unusual cases like Jeanne Calment<\/a><\/strong> of France, who died at age 122 in 1997, and Emma Morano of Italy, who is currently the world\u2019s oldest living person<\/a><\/strong> at 116 (her birthday is November 27). Vijg says they\u2019re rarities who beat extremely long odds to pass the 115-year mark.<\/p>\n

Quality of life matters, too<\/h2>\n

What matters more to Vijg is what he calls the \u201chealth span.\u201d Healthier seniors enjoy a better quality of life than those with major health problems, and there are other factors to consider, too. The 2013 United States of Aging survey<\/a><\/strong> found that social and family connections were strongest among seniors who reported the best quality of life. The seniors who reported good social and family ties were less likely to be depressed or to feel lonely \u2013 and researchers say loneliness can damage seniors\u2019 health.<\/p>\n

When doctors assess quality of life in their older patients, family connections, intimate relationships, and social activities are among things they look for. Other factors that influence seniors\u2019 quality of life<\/a><\/strong> are:<\/p>\n