Jane Goodall, who died last week at the age of 91, followed several principles that geriatricians recommend for a long and healthy life.
A scientist, conservationist and author, Dr Goodall stayed active, working until the day she died. She had a clear sense of purpose for her life. And she was an enduring optimist.
Over a nearly seven-decade career, DrGoodall taught us about the intelligence of chimpanzees. But she left behind powerful teachings about ageing – and living well – too.
HER WORK KEPT HER ACTIVE
According to the Jane Goodall Institute, Dr Goodall travelled approximately 300 days a year, espousing her “message of hope through action.” While forgoing retirement might not be for everyone, Ken Stern, the author of Healthy To 100, a book that examines longevity around the world, said that people who work longer typically live longer.
“We tend to associate work with stress, which is bad for you,” Stern said. “But in fact, working in later years is clearly beneficial from a healthy longevity perspective.”
Research shows that people who retire in their early 60s have a greater risk of death in the following years than those who stop working later, regardless of their health before retirement. People also tend to experience accelerated cognitive decline, as well as higher rates of depression, after they retire.
Some of the benefits of a later retirement probably stem from the fact that work keeps you physically active and engaged with the world. Dr Goodall’s travel schedule meant she was moving and “getting out of the house,” Stern said.
Dr Goodall’s work may have offered other health advantages, said Dr Margaret Flanagan, a neuropathologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Famously, Dr Goodall spent a lot of time in nature, which has been linked to lower cortisol levels, lower blood pressure and less inflammation.
The socially and cognitively stimulating aspects of her more recent work – writing books and speaking to large audiences – probably benefited Dr Goodall as well.
Social interactions are especially important as we age because they force us to exercise skills that we often take for granted, said Dr Stephanie Collier, the director of education in the geriatric psychiatry division at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. These include carrying on a conversation, using certain vocabulary and considering different worldviews. Being around others can also help lower stress and anxiety, Dr Collier added.
SHE HAD A “REASON FOR BEING”
Dr Goodall’s work clearly gave her a strong sense of meaning or purpose, which has been associated with a longer life span. One study, published in 2019, found that out of nearly 7,000 adults over the age of 50, those who scored highest on a measure asking about life purpose had less than half the risk of dying over the next four years compared with those who scored lowest.
“Feeling like you have something to do, some reason for being, is powerful,” said Dr Alison Moore, the director of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of California, San Diego. “Jane Goodall certainly had it.”
That sense of purpose can give people a reason to take better care of their physical health, Dr Moore said. “They want to stay in as good shape as they can to continue to be able to pursue the things that matter to them.”
If work doesn’t provide a feeling of meaning, it could come from spirituality, relationships or a new hobby, Dr Collier said. Whatever inspires it, having purpose in life gives people motivation “to keep learning, to keep interacting and to keep getting out of bed,” she said – elements that can fall by the wayside in older age.
SHE MAINTAINED A POSITIVE OUTLOOK ON LIFE
Dr Goodall was an optimist. In her last book, published in 2021, The Book Of Hope: A Survival Guide For Trying Times, she laid out what gives her hope, even in the face of climate change and other serious global challenges.
Research has shown that optimists live longer. For example, in an ongoing, decades-long study of ageing and dementia in a group of Catholic nuns, those who expressed more positive emotions in early-life writings lived, on average, seven to 10 years longer than those whose writings were the least positive. The association remained after adjusting for education and linguistic ability, suggesting that optimism “may help buffer stress and foster resilience,” said Dr Flanagan, who now leads the study.
Even when it came to death, Dr Goodall maintained a positive attitude. In a 2021 interview with The New York Times, she was asked about her “next great adventure.” Her answer? Dying.
“When you die, there’s either nothing, in which case I’m finished, or there’s something,” she said. “I happen to think that there’s something, from various experiences I’ve had. And if that’s so, then I can’t think of a greater adventure than finding out what’s there. What’s next?”
By Dana G Smith and Nina Agrawal © The New York Times Company
The article originally appeared in The New York Times.
