Deepak Chopra on healthy longevity

“He received the highest honor in his field, the Pritzker Prize, months after his 80th birthday. … At 97, architect Oscar Niemeyer is eagerly watching one of his most ambitious projects take shape, a mile-long seafront esplanade..” [More on the page: Design.]

Niemeyer is only one of many examples of people living vital and creative lives into late maturity.

In his recent Huffingtonpost entry A Clue About Aging and the Mind (Part 3), Deepak Chopra writes about some of the factors that support that vitality: “In the last post I listed 10 indisputable findings in how the mind affects aging. At first they look self-evident. Eating well, exercising, and keeping our mind active aren’t special needs for old people. They are needs throughout life.

“Yet few Americans actually follow preventive measures with any consistency over the years, and older people tend to be the worst at keeping up prevention.

“The temptation to rely on medications is everywhere, and due to anxiety about their health, millions of older people allow themselves to be over-medicated by doctors who prescribe various drugs by rote, without any real consideration for the individual.

“All of which is a prelude to making your own decisions about the aging process. Arranging your priorities in the following way could make a huge difference in the coming years.

1. Emotional health.
2. Self-image and perception of one’s personal situation
3. Stress reduction
4. Social connections.
5. Spiritual growth.

“The reason that the highest priority goes to emotional health is simple. Aging studies as well as studies of lifestyle diseases like coronary artery disease indicate that the people who are emotionally healthiest also have the healthiest bodies.”

Dr. Chopra is author of many books, including The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.