Healthy to 100
How Strong Social Ties Lead to Long Lives
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
An internationally recognized longevity and aging expert uncovers the secret to an enduring, thriving life: meaningful social connections
“For anyone thinking about what the second half of life should look like, Healthy to 100 is a must-read.” —Chip Conley, New York Times bestselling author of Learning to Love Midlife
A Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year
Contrary to popular belief, the secret to living longer is not just about eating well, exercising, or getting regular checkups. Instead, successful aging depends on the nature of your relationships and your social connections. If you want to live a healthy and rewarding life, you need to start with social health.
In Healthy to 100, longevity expert Ken Stern takes us on a journey to some of the longest-lived countries in the world—Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain—places that have achieved great advances in longevity by intentionally strengthening social connections. Science shows that physical and mental health outcomes are all improved by the intergenerational connectedness, sense of purpose, and respect enjoyed by older people in these countries.
Their example offers us all a personal and societal guide for how we can better the second half of life. Weaving in surprising, colorful stories from around the world, Stern shows that the key to healthy longevity involves a mindset shift and purposeful building of social connections. Healthy to 100 offers a hopeful, attainable, research-backed model for anyone seeking a longer and healthier life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Longevity Project founder Stern (Republican Like Me) extols the importance of meaningful relationships in this insightful examination of healthy living. Citing scientific studies and interviews with older adults around the world, Stern argues that the key to a long and healthy life isn't diet or income but strong social connections, such as a wide network of friends or coworkers, close family ties, or volunteer work that offers a sense of purpose. Stern travels to countries with high life expectancy rates—Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain—to examine how these societies keep older people connected to their communities and maximize their chances of living longer. For example, he learns how urban planners in Singapore built restaurants and stores around a retirement village to promote intergenerational intermingling; how government-funded programs in Italy encourage retired people to volunteer and attend cultural events; and how cities in Spain close streets to traffic to create public space for people to gather. Throughout, Stern provides practical takeaways readers can incorporate into their own lives, encouraging adults to sign up for in-person activities like learning courses, seek out volunteer opportunities, and invest in intergenerational relationships. This is a hopeful blueprint for anyone seeking to make the most of their later years.
