A little-known link to longevity.
Today, people are living longer than ever before. Average life expectancy is now close to 80. The fastest-growing segment of the population is those over 85. And the number of people over 100 is at an all-time high. Why is that?
Lots of reasons. Better health care, advances in modern medicine, fewer injuries, improved nutrition, more exercise, lower stress, social interaction — all these factors and more have been credited with helping us live longer.
But one factor you seldom hear about may be one of the most important of all: curiosity. At least three major studies have shown that a sense of curiosity not only helps us maintain our emotional well-being, it also protects against cognitive and physical decline as we age. In other words, being curious is good for our brains and our bodies as well as our feelings.
In one study, a group of older people was followed for five years. At the end of that period, some of them had died. With all other factors being accounted for, researchers found that the people who lived were far more curious than those who did not survive. Curiosity was more determinative than diet or lifestyle. Another study even suggested that a lack of curiosity leads to earlier mortality.
That doesn’t mean you should wait until you’re old to become curious. Fostering curiosity in young children helps them become more focused, engaged, and motivated. And that leads to better learning and retention, while establishing a habit that carries well into old age.
Do we become less curious as we age? Actually, even though our brains may decline as we get older, curiosity does not. In fact, it increases. This is particularly true when adults get into topics that didn’t interest them as children, like history, politics, and social studies.
How can you boost your curiosity? It’s just this simple: when you encounter or experience something that’s new or unusual for you, look into it. Grab your smart phone and Google it. (Don’t know what that means? Look it up!) The first thing you see will probably lead to more questions. Follow up on them. Before you know it, you’ll have learned a whole bunch of things you don’t know now. You don’t have to act on what you learn. Just discovering something new makes your life more interesting. And your newly discovered information makes you a more interesting conversationalist to boot.
Here's something you can do today: Just learn one new thing. A little-known fact; a surprising statistic; something that happened this day in history; something about your neighborhood you didn’t know. Pick up one such nugget every day and by the end of the year, you’re not only a more interesting person, you’re healthier and on the path to living longer. Try it and see.
