MIT Longevity Expert: Do These 3 Things Now to Stay Young, Live Longer, & Keep Your Freedom

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  Retirement isn't a short coda; it's another 8,000 days, a third of adult life

  Coughlin, founder of the MIT AgeLab, splits life into 8,000-day blocks: birth to 21, 21 to about 46 ('midlife crisis'), 46 to 65, and 65 to about 85. People over 85 are the fastest-growing group worldwide. Set childhood aside, and the years after 65 are a full third of adult life, not a trip to Disney with the grandkids. He says about half of children born today are expected to live to 100, and that being unprepared isn't a personal failing: 'old age is quite new' and there's no map.

• 02

  Three questions to plan your later life around

  (1) How will you get an ice cream cone, meaning the small, spur-of-the-moment things that make you smile? 70% of Americans over 50 live where not driving means not getting out. (2) What will you do on a Tuesday at 10:30, once work and caregiving no longer give your days structure? COVID showed that hobbies get boring fast and spouses tire of each other around the clock. (3) Who will change your light bulbs, meaning someone you trust in your mother's home, someone she'll accept, someone who checks on you?

• 03

  Build a social portfolio, because friends naturally fall away

  Most people have only one to three friends who'd show up at 2 a.m. Death, illness, moving away and even grandchildren (who take over Friday nights) thin that circle, which is why Coughlin recommends always having 'friends under development.' He cites Julianne Holt-Lunstad's research linking loneliness and isolation to a health impact comparable to smoking 11–15 cigarettes a day, including higher risk of hypertension and depression.

• 04

  Aging means diminishing capacity, not counting birthdays

  Coughlin defines aging as 'capacity diminishing over time.' Strength training, nutrition, learning and social connection add capacity and 'push out the clock.' The AGNES suit (Age Gain Now Empathy System) simulates the conditions that tend to come with age, such as arthritis, diabetes and vision loss. It's not your fate.

• 05

  Friction, fatigue and frustration explain a lot of 'cranky' older behaviour

  Small resistance in every chair, stair and jacket adds up to fatigue. Frustration follows because people remember when it was easy, and Mel adds a fourth F, feeling frail. Slow shoppers often aren't slow; they're unsure of their footing. Pride matters too: people skip a Friday dinner rather than be seen struggling to get through a door.

• 06

  When the world gets harder to move through, it shrinks

  If stairs feel daunting, you skip making tea downstairs and stay in bed watching TV. Coughlin cautions against removing all friction (a one-floor home isn't automatically better), because stairs are also exercise that preserves muscle. Use the railing at any age.

• 07

  Hard-to-use tech is bad design, not user failure

  Phones are built for young eyes and fingers, and thinner bottles with smaller caps (better for the environment) are harder to open with weak grip. Grip strength is a key marker of aging. Tech is 'the only industry that dares to accuse the consumer of not being competent.' When it's hard, people quietly opt out and lose connection.

• 08

  Most people plan for retirement but don't prepare for it

  A plan is like a grocery list; preparing means paying attention and acting, so the food actually ends up on the plate. The roughly 30 years of life expectancy gained since 1900 are 'a dividend to be cashed in.' Preparing is 'an act of love' for yourself and the people who will depend on you.

• 09

  The most important number in old age is your zip code

  Neighbouring zip codes can differ by 9–13 years in life expectancy. Coughlin, who teaches urban planning, judges a place on intensity (things to do and services), density (close enough to reach without driving) and accessibility (physical and financial). Mel realizes her remote Vermont home works only while she can drive.

• 10

  Caregiving is where people are least prepared

  The AgeLab and John Hancock built a longevity preparedness index with eight dimensions, including health, finance, home, community, life transitions, social life and caregiving. Caregiving scored lowest, at 42. About 70% expect a spouse or adult child to care for them, but only about 30% have discussed it. The care usually falls to a spouse, then the eldest daughter, which Coughlin attributes to social roles, not biology.