In the newspaper a few Sundays ago, I read an interesting article titled, "The Myths of Living Longer". It was an excerpt from "The Longevity Project"written by Howard S. Friedman, Ph.D. and Leslie R. Martin, Ph.D. I'm sure you'd agree that none of us want to necessarily live longer if we're not healthy, so taking care of oneself is important to live a long, healthy life. I thought I'd share these 'myths' with you and have you share your thoughts on them before I tell you what the research says. I think you may be surprised at the findings. I know I was at some of them.
myth #1: marriage guarantees a longer life
myth #2: taking it easy adds years to your life
myth #3: you can worry yourself to death
myth #4: more degrees mean more years
myth #5: friendly, outgoing people thrive
myth #6: jocks outlive nerds
These are very interesting and surprising. I can understand myth #3 and #6, but the others are surprising, you would never think that would work.
ReplyDeletemyth #1-
ReplyDeleteThis may be true because if you're in a happy marriage then you may live longer because you would be happier.
myth #2-
This also may true because if you keep away from dangerous habits or sports then you could be keeping yourself from major life threatening injuries.
myth #3-
You can worry yourself until you're physically sick but not to death. I don't believe it's possible.
myth #4-
I don't think school or education has to do with living longer.
myth #5-
This may be true. Having a lot of friends who are happy will help you to lead a happy and healthy life unless you surround yourself with negative people, then you may not get far.
myth #6-
I disagree. Stereotypical jocks usually give into peer pressure and which may result in negative behavior that will shorten the life span.
I think most of these myths could be true because they all affect a person either physically, mentally, or socially. By maintaining a balance between these three sides of the health triangle, a person is most likely to live longer. For example, myths two and three affect a person's mental wellness. Myths one and five affect a person's social health. Myth six affects a person's physical health. The only one I am not very sure about is myth four. But I guess more degrees mean you use your mind and brain more, which helps with a person's mental health.
ReplyDeletemyth #1: marriage doesn't really have anything to do with your health so i think it cant help u live a longer healthy life.
ReplyDeletemyth #2: I think this one has some truth to it. if you are just sitting around doing nothing u aren't keeping your body healthy, which means you are really not just wasting your time sitting there, you are also wasting your health.
myth #3: This one is just like number one, has nothing to do with your health, its just a myth.
myth #4: I could see were people would believe this one. The more you know the better off you are in ways of a career, and knowledge, but when it comes to health and fitness it has to do with how hard you work and stinking with it.
myth #5: friendly people do seem healthier and happier than mad and angry people.
myth #6: im my opinion, nerds will out live jocks, because jocks are playing high impact sports and wearing the bodies down. After so many years there bodies have just taken a beating and don't work as well as they used it. Nerds on the other hand, stay inside and study and work there brains out all day. so instead of being beaten on all day their bodies are still in great condition as the years go by.
myt 3 is definately true, but the others sound ridiculous. There is actually no for sure way to live longer. Accidents, health, or other things can interfer with one's strive of a "longer life". They sound pretty silly
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts about...
ReplyDeleteMyth 1: I do not agree. There are many single people that live longer than married couples.
Myth 2: I do not agree. Some people that do not take it easy and work multiple jobs go out and travel, only sleeping four hours of the night. These people sometimes live to be 80 or 90 years old.
Myth 3: I agree. If you worry about things too much, it can negatively affect your health and potentially lead to death.
Myth 4: I agree. In order to get more degrees it takes more years of studying.
Myth 5: I agree. People tend to like friendly and outgoing people more and they thrive because they are more liked by people.
Myth 6: I agree. Jocks are more active which makes them healthier and live longer.
myth #1: marriage guarantees a longer life- if you have a happy life being married then you could add years to your life, it depends
ReplyDeletemyth #2: taking it easy adds years to your life- if you slow down to enjoy your life you could live longer
myth #3: you can worry yourself to death- you could get very sick from worry and die or have a heart attack and die because of stress
myth #4: more degrees mean more years- I'm not sure on this one
myth #5: friendly, outgoing people thrive- being happy living happy means longer life
myth #6: jocks outlive nerds- nerds can be activ like jocks they can do exercise, go to the gym or play Wii fit
by Jordan Zuniga
myth #1: marriage guarantees a longer life, i disagree marriage can be a streeful thing there for shorting your life spand.
ReplyDeletemyth #2: taking it easy adds years to your life, in some ways yes, but if you just sit around that will make you unhealthy and shorten your life.
myth #3: you can worry yourself to death, yeah i would agree with that.
myth #4: more degrees mean more years, no i dont agree.
myth #5: friendly, outgoing people thrive, yes why not.
myth #6: jocks outlive nerds, nope dont belive that one.
If each of these statements are untrue, these are reasons that I think might answer why they are:
ReplyDeleteMyth 1:
Extra stress and responsibility can be hard on health.
Myth 2:
Perhaps by not having enough exercise, taking it too easy can lead to obesity and years off of one's life.
Myth 3:
I am surprised this statement would be called a myth, because even though you can't exactly inadvertently cause your death through worrying, the added stress can have negative effects. In addition, people who are intensely afraid can have heart attacks, so in a sense, I would think that this myth is a half-truth at least.
Myth 4:
In a sense, I can see how this could be true, since people with advanced degrees have a much larger variety of job options open to them, as well as jobs that typically pay significantly higher than others. This, theoretically, allows for a higher standard of living, which is beneficial to health. Nevertheless, the stress from obtaining such degrees, as well as the stress created by high level jobs, can have a negative effect on health.
Myth 5:
Increased social interaction might lead to extraneous stress if one becomes overwhelmed keeping on top of invitations to social events and establishing and maintaining a reputation. Also, the reconditioning into everyday life after a very happy and short time, such as party, might be depressing for some.
Myth 6:
“Nerds” often take on irregular sleeping schedules as a result of their devotion to their work. This is unhealthy and can weaken the body's immune system leading to more illnesses than is typical. Also, the many hours of looking at computer screens and intently at very small objects, can lead to eye disorders and strain. In addition, some, “nerds,” especially those who are scientists, are often put into dangerous situations, such as handling venomous animals or using toxic chemicals. On the other hand, “jocks” engage in rigorous exercise regimes pushing themselves to, and often beyond, their limits. They are often harmed by sporting injuries. None of this is good for health. After their career is over, if they go pro, it is also likely that they might find it harder to support themselves, which can lead to a lowered standard of living. I think that because of this, jocks generally might not live longer than nerds, though the health of nerds has its own downsides.
Note to Teacher:
I am sorry for this post being late. I was having internet trouble with my computer. I wrote this before your posts after this though, so these are my initial thoughts.
For all of these, you can find examples that support each myth and examples who defy each myth.
ReplyDelete#1: It depends on the marriage. There can be a case made for either side, but it isn't always true.
#2: So does this mean that "taking it easy" is doing absolutely nothing? How can this add years to your life?
#3: Again, a case can be made for either side. However, worried people may be inclined to visit the doctor regularly for health problems or check-ups.
#4: I believe the idea behind this is that better-educated people know more about their health. This makes sense, but I'm sure a counterexample could be found.
#5: Does this mean that introverted people don't thrive? A person like this can be very content and happy with his personal life and be successful. I strongly disagree with this myth.
#6: Even though jocks play sports and are healthy while they're young, that doesn't mean that they continue their healthy lifestyle to adulthood.
Myth #1: I agree only if the two are in love and friends. If not, it could wear you out.
ReplyDeleteMyth #2: As with anything, it's okay to take it easy sometimes, but you need to push yourself as well.
Myth #3: I believe this could be true if you stress out way too much for too long.
Myth #4: I disagree because you don't have to be smart to live long.
Myth #5: I believe this can be true as long as that's who you really are. If you are just trying to be that way then you won't be comfortable with it.
Myth #6: Not true. It depends on how you take care of yourself.
I don't think any of these myths really make sense. There is no way you can know you will be adding to subtracting years on your life.
ReplyDeleteI find this very entertaining and funny to think about. Most of these make some sense for on i strongly disagree with Myth#6: i do not think it matters on the life-style, or the label "jock" or "nerd". Really it just depends on if your taking good care of your body or not.
ReplyDeleteThe myths listed above were all very interesting. I do agree with some of them, such as myth #3. I think worry and stress in your life does impact your pyhsical and mental well being. I also agree with myth #5, I think people who have a friendly positive attitude do seem to thrive. Now, myth #2 I do not agree with. I feel people need to stay active to maintain good physical and mental health. With myth #1 some people feel that if a person has a spouse they tend to take better care of themselve. This would then contribute to a longer life. I do not agree with myth #4, I feel a person with one degree can live just as long as someone with many degrees. I also do not agree with myth #6. I think as long as a person is active both mentally and physically without overdoing it, the nerd and jock can both have healthy lives.
ReplyDelete1 - I don't see how marriage affect how long you live. There are many people out there who are simply content with living by themselves, or with a loved one who isn't their spouse.
ReplyDelete2 - This myth seems to have some truth to it. For example, when certain people stress out profusely, they tend to grow grey hairs.
3 - Those who worry too much are more prone to excess stress because of it, which in turn may lead to a shorter life.
4 - I have no idea what this means. If by degrees they're referring to the temperature or the climate of the immediate area, I beg to differ.
5 - The attitude of a person doesn't affect whether or not they live longer than those who are generally more meek, but it can determine where they generally end up in life.
6 - As a general statement, this is true. Those who are physically fit in their early years are more likely to retain their habits and continue to exercise on a regular basis.