RESILIENCE IN LATER LIFE…

OR HOW TO HAVE A GOOD “OLD AGE”

HELEN M. DENNISPrincipal and specialist in aging, employment & the new retirement, and co-author of

project renewment ™: the first retirement model for career women

REIMAGINING LIFE: EMPOWERING WOMEN FOR

LIFELONG VITALITY

Resilience in later life…or

How to have a good “old age…”

Helen DennisSpecialist in aging, employment and the new retirement

All rights reserved, Helen Dennis, 2014

Life Expectancy

• 1900 – 47 years

• 2000 – 78 years

• 2011 - 78.7 years

A few statistics

Does a good old age = health?

•Stephen Hawking - ALS

•Mother Teresa - Infirmities

•Franklin D. Roosevelt - Polio

Does a good old age = successful aging?

Does a good old age = 100 years?

New England Centenarian Study – Thomas Perls, MD.

US centenarians today

1 per 6,000 people = 80,000

85% women; 15% men

2050 -834,000 to over 4 million *

Eleanor Manning 102 years

Does a good old age = thriving?

Secrets from the worlds’ happiest people:

• Denmark• Singapore• Mexico• San Luis Obispo

Lesson from the “thrivers”…living better

• Set reasonable goals• Seek safe place to live where people are thriving• Choose community where you have interests• Find modest house with neighbors (friends) and sidewalks• Recognize your purpose• Find a job you love• Take 6 weeks vacation• Be physically active• Spend 6 hours/day with your lover, kids and true friends• Mediate, pray or nap daily• Call your mother

Dan Beuttner

Blue Zone Hotspots

Loma LindaLongest life expectancy in the U.S. M - 88 years; F – 89

years

Okinawa, Japan

• No word for retirement

• Moai

• Hara hachi bu

• Ikigai

Greece (Island of Ikaria)

• Daily naps, walk

• Religion

• Phone

Nicoya, Costa Rica

• Many sexual partners

• Belief on God, work ethic, zeal for family

• Diet – corn/lime, oranges, water

• Visitors

Albert Lea

Goal: Help residents transform the way they eat, work, exercise and play

Restaurants

Employers

Grocery stores

Longevity foods

Walking school bus

Walking…walking…walking

Results: 10 months later• Average life expectancy increased 3.1 years (N=786)

• Average weight loss – 2 pounds

• 2/3 locally owned restaurants added “life extending” food to their menus.

• Grocery stores identified “longevity foods.”

• Consumption of vegetables increased

• Rate of depression decreased

• 20% reduction in absenteeism for key employers

• City employees – 49% decrease in health care costs

Building block #1: Community

EmployersSchools

RestaurantsCity government

Parents

GrandparentsFamilies

Focus groups

Walking groupsPTAS

Workshops

Building block #2: physical activity

Building block #3: Mental activity

By age 70 – lose 10 % of neurons

Building block #4: Personality

• Humor• Charisma• Coping with stress• Extrovert

Building block #5: Attitude

Building block #6: Relationships

“Friends help us live longer.”

Women’s Relationships

Oxytocin

*Source: Shelley E. Taylor, UCLA

Building block #7: Nutrition

Nutrition and lifespan

•Calorie restriction

•Hara hachi bu

Building block #8: Purpose• Those (84%) who had a purpose said they were living the good life.*

• Shifted from pursuing money to pursuing meaning and purpose.

• Okinawa - Ikigai – reason to wake up in the morning

• * Source: MetLife Mature Market Institute

Encore.org

Second Acts for the Greater Good

A nonprofit think tank focused on older people

Purpose ~ Passion ~ Paycheck

CATALINO TAPIAScholarship Founder

Bay Area Gardener’s Foundation

Kathleen Taylor.Co-Founder and Executive Director

Prevention International: No Cervical Cancer

8 Building Blocks1. Community

2. Physical activity

3. Mental Activity

4. Personality

5. Attitude

6. Relationships

7. Nutrition

8. Purpose

Your building block(s)

What can you do to increase your chances

Of having the best – “old” age?

JUST DO IT!

Project Renewment

Renewment® =Renewal + retirement

Everything changed…

Betty Friedan’s

The Feminine Mystique

Is this all there is?

WHO AM I WITHOUT MY BUSINESS CARD?

WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY…anyway?

A SORORITY HOUSE- NOT A NURSING HOME

LESS STEAM IN MY ENGINE

I WON’T EARN ANOTHER $

WHAT IF HE (SHE) RETIRES FIRST?

I LOST MY KEYS …AND MY CAR

FOREVER GUILTY

www.ProjectRenewment.com

Contact information

www.facebook.com/ProjectRenewment

www.HelenmDennis.com

www.facebook.com/SuccessfulAgingCommunity

310 373-6660