Research titled “Lifestyle, social factors, and survival after age 75:population based study”  published in August 2012 by BMJ Group found that seniors who were more active mentally, physically and socially were more likely to live past the age of 90. Research shows that seniors that were more active lived 5.4 years longer, on average, than seniors that were less active.

The study was conducted over an 18 year period. Researchers followed 1810 adults that were 75 years and older through the years, thoroughly questioning the participants on specific topics pertaining to their social, physical lifestyles, along with the activity they were involved in. Through the gathered data the studies showed that individuals, who participated in physical forms of activities, didn’t smoke, participated in social networking, and exercised their mind through games and puzzles, lived longer than those who were less active.

On average women live longer than men however in this study men showed a larger increase in life expectancy when they exhibited some of these healthy behaviors. Women with healthy lifestyle activities showed to live 5 years longer than women who didn’t, where men with a healthy profile lived an average of 6 years longer than the men who didn’t practice healthy lifestyle behaviors or involve themselves in mental, physical and social activities. Through this study researchers also found that individuals with chronic conditions showed an increase in their lifespan based on having a healthy profile life.

When comparing individuals based on their social networks, those who had wealthy networks showed to live at least 1.6 years longer than their peers with poor social connections. “Our results suggest that encouraging favorable lifestyle behaviours [sic] even at advanced ages may enhance life expectancy, probably by reducing morbidity,” concluded researchers.

To read more on the conclusions of this research, please click here to be linked directly to the study.