It Ain't Just the Money
The Secret to Living Longer
Last week I wrote about the connection between income and cost of living, which can be either good or not-so-good news depending on where you are (it’s all bad news if you live in Mississippi—$30k lower than the US average). But neither income nor spending, as it were, are very good predictors of how long you might be around to enjoy and/or incur it. Money has a lot less influence over how long we live than anyone would like to admit (but especially to a few of those with a billionaire’s boat-load of it), because the truth of the matter is anything can happen.
What does influence it? Diet and exercise for sure. But is it enough then to own a gym membership and consume a Mediterranean diet? Not so, says the data recently collected in an article titled: Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world and published by The Economist.
The answer is exercise, diet AND a healthy social life.
“Cities are built around plazas where friends, family and co-workers sit, eat, drink and talk. That turns out to be good for you even if you sip vermouth and eat crisps at noon. Reams of research show that social contact is critical for physical and psychological well-being.” — The Economist
It's hard to have it all, however, and while feeling connected to their community is one of the hallmarks of many southern European cities and towns, having numerous opportunities to work is not, which only goes to show that work, like high income, is not everything.
Other measures matter more.
As the article concludes: Southern European countries do not score highest on happiness—that title has long been held by Denmark and Finland. But happiness assessments weight long-term life satisfaction more heavily than short-term smiling and laughing.
Thanks for reading!
Alla prossima,
SLG
