Three Not-So-Bad Things on Aging and Longevity

Two weeks ago, we had an uncharacteristic deviation from our mostly sunny view on aging and longevity—and we will confess to you that things have been a little tense around TNSB HQ ever since. So we are determined to make amends and return to form with three big ideas on how to make things better in an aging America.

1. Riding the Care Connector.

Virtually every American adult will find themselves at some point in their life thrust into the role of caregiver—whether it be for an aging relative, neighbor, or friend. Despite the almost mathematical certainty of this, it does sometimes seem like each caregiver has to invent the role for themselves. It’s not as if they are on their own, as there are tons of resources out there from the nonprofit community, from government, and from other caregivers. But information often seems disconnected, difficult to navigate, and hard to trust and evaluate. It’s a jigsaw puzzle, and navigating a brand-new world of caregiving takes time and experience that most new caregivers do not have.

What can be done to help caregivers find information? Some countries with strong government investments in caregivers offer centralized services to help them find resources, but regrettably, the United States is not one of them. So now comes a new effort, quarterbacked out of the Stanford dciX Caregiving Innovations Project, to create a centralized database and platform to help caregivers along their journey. The idea is still in the concept phase but?a new report ?entitled “Landscape of Caregiving Innovations: Bringing Together Caregivers, Innovators, Services and Solutions,” imagines a new “Care Connector:” a central clearinghouse where caregivers can easily find and evaluate support services, products, and solutions through a targeted matching mechanism.

It's a big idea and many experts seem to agree that is sorely needed. There are some 48 million family caregivers in the US, many of them new on the job, and the idea of a one-stop shop to help ease them along the caregiver's journey could be a great advancement.

2. Aging While Black.

After a lifetime of racial and health inequities, Black seniors are at an elevated risk of spending their last years with declining health, little income and virtually no savings. Compared to other racial groups in the US, Black elders are?far more likely ?to have high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer; to suffer from premature death; and to struggle with the consequences of late life poverty. There was some considerable progress in the first parts of this century in leveling some of the health and life expectancy disparities for Black Americans, but COVID wiped out most, if not all, of that progress. According to?an early study from Kaiser Health News , Black Americans aged 65-74 were five times as likely to die from COVID than white Americans.

But being Black and older is also about a community of elders who have much to offer younger generations, each other and the broader society. That’s where Raymond Jetson, founder of MetroMorphosis in Baton Rouge, comes in. He has just launched?Aging While Black : a new movement to better the wellbeing of Black elders, their families and their communities. Raymond has identified three core principles to this effort: Recalibrating the Village to overhaul the ecosystem that engages and supports Black life; Embracing Innovation and Rapid Change so that new technologies and new innovations can create more opportunities; and Leaning into Sankofa, which in this context means making benevolent use of the wisdom of elders to support younger generations.

Want to know more? Check out the Aging While Black blog?here .

3. Combatting the Loneliness Crisis.

Here at TNSB, we’re big fans of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy—he certainly looks jaunty in his uniform—as he has shown a sterling ability to address large and meaningful public health issues over two tours of duty.?And he has done it again ?this past week, by officially declaring that loneliness (the subjective measure of feeling disconnected) and social isolation (an objective measure of lacking connection to family, friends, and community) are a growing public health crisis in America. And well he should, because there is a direct correlation between loneliness and social isolation with increased risk of heart disease, dementia, and even susceptibility to viruses, among a host of many, many ills. High levels of loneliness are the equivalent, Murthy says, of picking up a 15 cigarette a day habit.

This is an important milestone in public awareness, but let’s face it, declaring a public health emergency is one thing, solving it is another. The Report takes the first and important step in that direction, by setting forth six key strategies: (1) Strengthen Social Infrastructure in Local Communities, (2) Enact Pro Connection Public Policies, (3) Mobilize the Health Sector, (4) Reform Digital Environments, (5) Deepen Knowledge, and (6) Build a Culture of Connection.

It is time for an alarm.?All the measures ?of loneliness and social isolation are going in the wrong direction. We now spend 20 hours per month less with friends than we did in 1970, and that time has been replaced with time spent alone, which has increased 24 hours per month in that same time period. It’s goodbye happy hour, hello YouTube. And no one declaration, even from someone with epaulets, will immediately alter the velocity of our disconnection. But change has to start somewhere, so a tip of the TNSB cap to the Surgeon General for starting this dialogue.

You can find the report?here .

Which Not-So-Bad Thing surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments!