Living Beyond 100

A few weekends ago, I encountered the oldest living organism I had ever seen.

No, not that one. I’ll get there.

Tucked in the fog of the Santa Cruz Mountains about 45 minutes from my apartment, lies Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.

Encompassing almost 5,000 acres of land today, this preservation houses a variety of unique habitats and dozens of species including mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and the famous yellow banana slug pictured above.

While fascinating, none of the above animals are the reason tens of thousands of people from around the globe travel to its grounds each month. Within the park, there is a 40-acre stretch of forested land known as an old-growth redwood grove.

Growing distinctly in coastal regions along the West Coast between Northern California and Oregon, these massive trees are the tallest on Earth, with heights equivalent to that of a 30-story skyscraper.

After about a mile of trekking into the park, we encountered what’s known to locals as “The Giant”. Clocking in at a whopping 1.5 million pounds and as wide as three Tesla Model Xs, it is the biggest redwood in the park. Seeing it for the first time hungover on a Sunday morning, my jaw dropped.

Yet, it’s what you can’t see that is most impressive. The Giant is estimated to be more than 1500 years old.

This single tree has lived through the rise and fall of global empires, world wars, deadly pandemics, and the making of modern society as we see and know it today.

In our own lives, we’d be an outlier to live through a mere fraction of what this tree has seen (probably for the better).

How Long Will You Live?

Back when this redwood first sprouted, humans on Earth had an average life expectancy of around 30 to 40 years. To clarify, this does not mean that humans were only living for 40 years. Many people lived much longer around the world, but high child mortality rates significantly lowered the mean value.

Due to game-changing advancements in sanitation, hygiene, and public health guidelines, this average has more than doubled to 80+ years in the world’s most affluent countries today. To see where the U.S. stacks up, check out the link here.

Interestingly, there are a few special places on Earth where even the richest countries can’t compete.

Titled “Blue Zones” by National Geographic Explorer/Journalist Dan Buettner, these regions boast the greatest proportion of centenarians (individuals who are over 100 years old) on the planet. Not only are their residents living longer, but they also report significantly lower levels of chronic diseases in old age than anywhere else. The 5 regions Buettner identified as these Blue Zones couldn’t be farther apart:

Ikaria, Greece

Loma Linda, California

Sardinia, Italy

Okinawa, Japan

Nicoya, Costa Rica

This fall, Netflix came out with a short docuseries following Buettner as he delves into what makes these Blue Zones unique and the commonalities between them. I watched this a few weeks back and was blown away. Seeing 80+ year-olds doing handstands in Japan and a 102-year-old Puerto Rican riding a horse completely changed what I thought it meant to be “old”.

So, what makes Blue Zones special? How could areas so varied in culture, socioeconomics, and geography all find common ground when it comes to longevity?

They Hit Their Exercise Rings

Across all regions, exercise was a central tenet of these centenarians’ daily lives. Interestingly, the elderly people in these regions did not actively work out in the sense we do in the U.S.

They weren’t running on treadmills or repping 225 on the bench at their local L.A. Fitness. Many remained fit through activities like gardening, walking, and woodworking.

Exercise was simply baked into daily life.

In the United States, it is estimated that over 80% of people live in urban settings. Living in a big city has many pros such as diverse cuisine, an array of high-paying jobs, and plenty of options to find that special someone. In urban settings, however, finding ways to be active can be difficult. When a large proportion of our days are spent commuting in trains or cars, sitting at desks at our jobs, and on the couch after work, a much smaller part is spent actively moving around.

Most of the Blue Zones featured were either mountainous, rugged, or rural. Seeing older nuns fly up the hilly cobblestone streets every day on the island of Sardinia and shepherds herding sheep through the mountainous terrain of Ikaria made me realize that where one lives can make a much bigger impact than how one lives.

Strong Communities

Central to how these people lived was their focus on friends and family, even above themselves.

In Okinawa, almost all of the centenarians interviewed were part of strong social circles called, ”Moais”. These groups consisted of five friends who committed themselves to one another for life. Whether one of them needed an extra hand with a DIY home project or couldn’t pay for a medical bill, the Moai stepped in to help.

In Sardinia, it is commonplace for elderly family members to live with or near their sons, daughters, and grandchildren. Keeping family close is not only good for the cognitive and emotional health of grandparents, it has been shown to lower disease and mortality rates of children in the home as well.

In the United States, we have a massive network of retirement homes and facilities to place our loved ones who are facing cognitive or physical declines in old age. It is an unfortunate reality that a substantial percentage of our elderly population passes away within only a year of being placed in nursing homes, despite receiving higher levels of medical care and needed supervision than they could get at home.

I wonder how the state of our elders in the U.S. would differ if we too adopted a family-first approach like you see in Sardinia or could count on our own Moai for support before it is too late.

Could we help slow cognitive or physical decline in those we love before it hits?

Finding Your Why

To the Japanese, it is “Ikigai” and for Puerto Ricans, “Plan De Vida”, but both inherently mean the same thing. For Blue Zoners, having a strong sense of purpose is paramount to waking up each day happy to be alive.

Nietzsche best put it in his book, Twilight of the Idols, when he noted, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

Despite the pains and difficulties of growing old, these centenarians focus on what they can give to the world and accomplish through personal charity and faith.

As the only Blue Zone in the United States, the Adventists of Loma Linda, California may be the most prominent example of living a purpose-driven life. A community of around 9,000 strong, the Adventists view health as a pillar of their faith. Through active volunteering, hours-long pickleball sessions (WAY ahead of the curve there), and a plant-based diet, the group’s members live a whopping 10 years longer than the average American.

100 and Counting

While exercise, community, and a strong sense of purpose have propelled Blue Zones to the upper echelon of longevity, several individuals and groups with deep pockets and high ambitions are taking it a step further.

From a private subsidiary of Alphabet to leading tech entrepreneurs, there is a growing interest among those with the resources to try and “cheat death” in the 21st century.

As Israeli Professor and Author of Sapiens and Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, affirms, “The best human minds no longer spend their time trying to give meaning to death. Instead, they are busy extending life.”

Take Calico Life Sciences.

Founded in 2013 by former Genentech CEO Arthur Levinson, this Google-backed, biotechnology company has garnered over 2.5 billion dollars in funding from key partnerships with AbbVie and leading VC firms. As the company’s website proclaims, its’ mission is to:

“Harness advanced technologies and model systems to increase our understanding of the biology that controls human aging. Calico will use that knowledge to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives.”

Google is not alone in its pursuit of kicking death down the road just a bit farther.

Many billionaires and prominent techies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars into a variety of life science and anti-aging startups over the last two decades.

Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and (newly reinstated) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have large investments in companies such as Altos Labs and Unity Biotechnology, which are both focused on fighting chronic diseases and cellular rejuvenation to help people live better, for longer.

Even professional athletes shell out huge amounts of cash each year in this realm. Tom Brady and Lebron James have famously invested millions of dollars in their bodies over their careers to aid performance and (literally) outlive their competition.

While many of these investments and this research have been kept quiet, some wealthy individuals are taking their quest for anti-aging more public.

Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who is currently 45, has a team of nearly 30 doctors dedicated to helping him age in reverse. Johnson refers to himself as a “professional rejuvenation athlete” and there is no doubt this dude lives out that title. Every day, he engages in an extremely rigorous diet and exercise routine that would make David Goggins proud, constantly monitoring and analyzing the biometric data he gathers in the process.

By many measures, it’s working. Johnson’s biological age has dropped tremendously in several categories. For example, his diaphragm strength now resembles that of an 18-year-old, and daily laser treatments to his skin have reversed its biological age by 22 years.

It doesn't matter whether it’s Silicon Valley or the NFL. The race to find the fountain of youth has never been greater (or better funded).

Achieving Eternal Life on Earth

Never before in our human history have we had such control over our physical environment. By all significant measures, we have eradicated the dangers that led to premature death. Lives lost due to natural predators, starvation, and environmental disasters are magnitudes lower than they were hundreds of years ago, with all trending to near zero.

As Harari best laid it out in Homo Deus:

“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists, and criminals combined.”

We have become masters of the world around us, but have been unable to master ourselves.

In the 21st century, humans are turning their attention to this end. While our current quest may seem to be focused on extending our lives, research being done as we speak aims to go much further than that. Already, we are pursuing new ways to genetically and technologically modify humans for the better.

Our biggest ambitions in the next 100 years will focus on how to permanently enhance our bodies, minds, and lives.

We will try to turn ourselves, Homo Sapiens, into Homo Deus, “Human Gods”.

The question is, are we ready?

-John Henry

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