How Doers Get More Done, Times 100.

1. How Doers Get More Done, Times 100.

Most days, news about someone turning 100 is met with a small shrug here at TNSB world headquarters. There are some 722,000 centenarians worldwide right now, with more than 100,000 in the US. We’re not sure how many are joining the ranks every day, but it’s a number in the hundreds at least.?

But there are exceptions: today, that exception is JoCleta Wilson, who at age 100 is not only a newly minted centenarian, but the oldest employee of Home Depot, at least according to the Washington Post. Two or three days a week she takes a 4-hour shift at her local Louisville, KY store, where she works the cash register, on her feet the entire time. That may sound grueling, even for someone a few decades younger, but for Wilson, the work provides social connection, purpose and movement – all critical to healthy aging.

Wilson is by no means the only working centenarian, even at Home Depot. Far be it for us to question the reporting of the Washington Post, but David Frank, who works at the store in Windsor, Ontario, also claims the mantle of oldest employee - and he seems to have a few months jump on Wilson. But we’re peacemakers here, and will label Frank as the oldest male employee of Home Depot, and Wilson the oldest female employee. They both deserve the honors.?

Shameless Self Promotion #1.

If you like the stories of JoCleta and David, you’ll love the story of Debra Rapoport: fashion designer, lover of found materials, and maker of avant-garde hats. At 80, she is still bigger than life and full of passion for her work. You can meet her on our latest Grandpeople.?

2. It's Not the Humidity, It's the Heat.

If you’re planning to go for a weekend to Las Vegas, you’re probably ok. Just don’t get caught up in it all and stay more than 140 days. A new study from researchers at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at USC have found a link between prolonged exposure to high heat and faster epigenetic aging. In a nationally representative sample of 3600 adults over the age of 55, adults who live in climates with more than 140 days of 90-degree heat evidenced 14 months more of aging, according to a set of biomarkers, than those who live in climates with less than 10 days of 90 degree plus heat.?

This is the first population-level analysis to establish a connection between heat exposure and epigenetic aging in humans, though previous studies have found similar results with mice, fish, and guinea pigs. It’s important not only because many US cities – Phoenix, San Antonio, and Orlando to name a few – already meet the criteria for 140 days of frying pan heat, but more cities are tripping into that territory in an era of global warming. There are limitations to this new study – the study does not show that heat caused the epigenetic differences, only that they are linked. And there is not enough data to show the impact, pro or con, of air conditioning or other manmade environmental or lifestyle factors.??

But fundamentally it opens a new way of thinking about the impact of heat on older adults. The topic is typically discussed in terms of catastrophic impact – heat stroke leading to death – but this study suggests that there may be population wide “wearing” impacts that are significant from a public health standpoint, and one that we will need to be thinking about as more cities in the US and globally struggle through extended heatwaves.

Shameless Self Promotion #2.

We 100% guarantee that it won’t be over 90 degrees May 5th in Palo Alto (note from the TNSB legal department: by “guarantee”, we mean “predict”, “believe”, or “just guessing”) for the second annual Healthy Aging Conference, held in collaboration between the Lifestyle Medicine Program at Stanford and the Longevity Project. This year, our theme is “mind and body,” and we delve into the mental side of health: brain health, purpose, social connection, mindfulness, and more. All that, plus the latest in nutrition and exercise. Join us at Stanford or virtually to hear from Chip Conley, Elisa Epel, BJ Fogg, Kelly and Juliet Starrett, and so many more.? Get your tickets here.?

3. It's the Most Important Day of the Year.

March 5 is National Cheese Doodle Day.?How, people, is that not a federal holiday? But we really have a different, more relevant and more important, day in mind: World Hearing Day on March 3. According to the World Health Organization, by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are projected to have some degree of hearing loss, and more than 700?million will require hearing rehabilitation. It’s a growing problem, as over 1?billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. This all imposes enormous costs, estimated to be almost US $1?trillion per year.?

Much of hearing loss is avoidable – the WHO projects that an investment of $1.40 per person would permit the scaling up of ear and hearing care globally, and new technologies, such as the new Apple hearing aid, promises greater effectiveness at lower prices. Despite advances, hearing loss is a growing problem, with significant consequences for health as we age. Hearing loss can have a substantial and negative effect on cognitive health. Studies have shown that older adults with hearing loss have a greater risk of developing dementia than older adults with normal hearing. Cognitive abilities (including memory and concentration), decline faster in older adults with hearing loss than in older adults with normal hearing.

Hearing loss can also lead to social isolation and loneliness, as older adults who can’t hear well may become depressed and withdrawn. Hearing loss, even small amounts, is also linked to an increased risk for falls, as well as risks to personal safety, since it is more difficult to drive safely when warning sounds are hard to hear.?

Technology and treatment offer hope: Many studies have found that people who use hearing restorative devices (such as hearing aids and?cochlear implants), had a lower risk of long-term cognitive decline compared to people with uncorrected hearing loss. But solving the problem starts with awareness, making hearing loss (and hearing aids) less socially sensitive, and making sure adequate resources are available.?

Shameless Self Promotion #3.

Hearing gets a day, but autoimmune diseases get an entire month!?March is autoimmune disease awareness month, and we want to do our part. Autoimmune diseases refer to a class of diseases in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. There are likely more than 100 such autoimmune diseases, though no one knows for sure, and autoimmune attacks can take place in almost any system within the body.?Autoimmune diseases have historically been poorly understand and inadequately researched, but we know that they impact more than 50 million people in the US alone, some 80% of whom are women. In this season of the Century Lives podcast, titled The 51%, we are looking at the reasons why women spend many more years in poor health than men.?The story of autoimmune diseases in the US exemplifies the challenges that women face in our health care system: a history of research underinvestment for a disease that mostly affects women and the difficulty that millions of women face in being heard in society and adequately treated in our medical system. This new episode is out today, and you can hear it here.?