The numbers dont lie.
In 2018, 17.2 per cent of Canadians were 65 or older. By 2030, according to Statistics Canada, that number will be up to 23 per cent. There are more of us, and whats more, were living longer. But are we living better? The jury is very much out on that question.
We need to learn to think more in terms of health span, and less in terms of simple life span, said part-time Montrealer Daniel J. Levitin. The writer, cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist and musician sensed a gap in the literature on the subject and, as he has done with such bestselling titles as This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, he set out to fill it.
My parents are in their 80s and I wanted to recommend a book for them, the 62-year-old said last week. I looked and looked, but couldnt find one. I realized that a lot of the new neuroscience hadnt trickled down to the average person, so I read roughly 4,000 peer-reviewed papers, thinking, How would I explain this to my parents?
The result is Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives (Allen Lane, 528 pages, $34), a wide-ranging work that confirms the authors flair for marshalling voluminous research and tested science into an accessible whole a layered practice in which, in his words, what might seem like superficial things are stand-ins for really big issues.
Part of the societal narrative that I want to push back on is that we tend to think of life as comprising these developmental stages prenatal, infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and so on, and that after some point 65, 70, whatever its just decline, Levitin said. And thats not borne out by the research.
(Old age) is a distinct developmental stage, and as with any other, there are pluses and minuses. So I wanted to write about what science had to say about the course of aging and what happens in the brain, from the womb right up to old age.
As for practical application, said Levitin, The book wasnt intended as a problem-solving book, a what do I do about my elderly aunt? book. What Im really concerned with is that we start talking about and preparing for (old age) sooner.
A big part of that, he stressed, has to do with making the appropriate decision, whenever possible, about where you live: the common desire to retire to a rural or exurban setting, for example, comes with complications. In Successful Aging, a three-part catchphrase ice cream, lunch and light bulbs serves as a way into the idea.
If you want to just walk down the street and get an ice cream and be surrounded by people, are you living in a way that allows you to be spontaneous? Levitin said. Are you in a place socially and geographically where you can have a standing (weekly) lunch with someone? As for the light bulb, are you really going to climb a ladder to replace it, or is there someone who can help you?
Daniel J. Levitin, the James McGill Professor Emeritus of behavioural neuroscience at McGill University, displays his knack for making potentially daunting research accessible in Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives.John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
Another popular perception Levitin would like to help dispel is the idea that people need less sleep as they get older.
When were younger, as with other things, we can be somewhat cavalier about sleep, he said. But as we get older some bodily systems become less efficient, and one of the things that declines is the ability of your biological clock to reset itself. Sleep hygiene is the idea that you have to look after and tend to your sleep cycle by going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time every day, insofar as possible. Older people tend to get less sleep, but they need eight or nine hours just like the rest of us. Many cases of Alzheimers are misdiagnosed cases of sleep deprivation.
For all the growing unease about possible long-term effects of online culture, the digital realm is undeniably where were having more and more of our interactions a situation Levitin is at pains to warn against.
I like that in the three minutes every morning I allocate to Facebook I can quickly catch up on people who are far from me, he said. But its not a substitute for face-to-face conversation. Weve been sold a lack of nuance in the name of efficiency, but in the long run its less efficient, because nuance contributes to efficiency.
Montreal science writer Susan Pinker decries the relative lack of third spaces places other than home and the workplace where people can gather that cater to the elderly.Random House Canada
Another prominent Montreal science writer, Susan Pinker dealt with the subject above in her 2015 book The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier and Happier. She said last week that her subsequent research following my nose, she called it has underlined her findings.
The research has continued to indicate that in-person social interaction has a different impact on our brains and bodies than digital interaction, said Pinker, 62. Although she stressed that one needs to be careful when it comes to anti-digital jeremiads.
Ive found that theres no wrath quite like the wrath of a grandparent whos been told that Skype isnt as good as the real thing, she said. Dont try to tell someone that seeing her grandchilds face on a screen is a bad thing.
The increasing recognition of the need to balance out the atomizing effects of the internet in short, to get out more can be a challenge for those who are more inclined toward solitude and introspection.
You cant just will yourself out of that, Levitin acknowledged. But for many adults, after a certain age neurochemical shifts cause them to be more outgoing. Grandparents do tend to talk and communicate more than parents, and its the micro-connections that are crucial talking to your postal carrier, to the person next in line at the checkout counter at the grocery store. It brings you out of loneliness.
But I would add a distinction that I maybe didnt make enough of in the book that loneliness and solitude are not the same. Some people enjoy solitude and dont feel lonely; other people are lonely in a crowded room. Loneliness is the killer, not solitude. I write about Sonny Rollins, Donald Fagen, Malcolm Gladwell people who really seem to enjoy their solitude. I see Gladwell in New York City having lunch alone. Ive never seen him lunching with someone.
The need for what Pinker identifies as third spaces places other than home and the workplace where people can gather to satisfy a natural craving for human contact is increasingly evident.
If your municipality doesnt create them, then people will find them, Pinker said. Tims (Tim Hortons) is a great Canadian example of that.
The relative paucity of such places is an example of something Pinker decries with regard to the elderly: a frustrating gap between need and service.
I would love to see more policy efforts directed at the fact that we are living longer, and people who are living longer want to live well, she said. One of my biggest bugaboos about some of the cultural scenes here is that theyre not accessible to the seniors who would love to participate. My mom loves classical music, but my dad has passed away and shes having mobility issues, so shes not going to go by herself. But if the orchestra, say, convened a group of seniors and gave them a good deal on tickets, and had concerts for them, possibly during the day when its easier for them to get out, theyd get a huge number of subscribers. I dont think they see it that way. Theyre upset that their market is greying, as opposed to saying, Thats what our market is, lets go get them.
The book wasnt intended as a problem-solving book, a what do I do about my elderly aunt? book, Daniel J. Levitin says of Successful Aging. What Im really concerned with is that we start talking about and preparing for (old age) sooner.John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
In much of the talk around age, the elephant in the room is the need to overcome deep-rooted cultural ageism. Progress is being made, but its an ongoing battle.
Its a huge battle, Levitin concurred. Even within the neuroscience community its not talked about. When you think about all of the different isms or prejudices that face society, whether its sexism, racism, prejudice against LGBTQ people all of these are far from solved, but at least theyre part of the national conversation. Theyre on the table. Ageism is not. If youre 60, 62, 65, its virtually impossible to get a promotion, very very difficult to move into a new company. Even in the arts, Ive seen musicians and artists denied the opportunities younger people would get, for reasons having nothing to do with talent.
Another question that needs addressing involves the growing existential crisis posed by climate change: Can we have more and more people staying active for longer and longer without overtaxing an environment already at crisis point? Levitin believes we can.
It seems to me that if youve got more people working and contributing to the economy, rather than drawing on a strained social insurance system, thats a good thing, he said. And if youve got more older people with experience and wisdom helping younger adults solve problems wisdom being the aggregate of experiences, and older adults being much better at problem solving thats a good thing, too.
ianmcgillis2@gmail.com
Margaret Atwood in Montreal in 2012: at the centre of our culture for longer than any other writer.Dario Ayala / Montreal Gazette files
There is no current shortage of people who have remained vital cultural presences far past the age when previous eras might have seen them step politely aside. Here are six of them.
Paul Simon
Anyone who witnessed Simons remarkable 2018 concert at the Bell Centre 2 1/2 hours of high-intensity performance, including a spot of lively Cajun two-step dancing had to be impressed at his protean energy and commitment to his art. Ive known him for many years, said Levitin. He said he decided (around) age 60, starting with the Youre the One album (in 2000), to raise his game and hone his craft to a new level. Not bad for someone whod been no slouch through age 59. (See also: Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Paul McCartney, Elton John.)
The Dalai Lama
His Holiness made a deep impression on Levitin when the writer visited him in India last year. He was 83 and he had just published his 125th book, Levitin said. Hes a very happy guy a bit of a prankster. He told me, The thing Ive discovered about being 83 is that when you tell people you dont want to travel, they say OK.
Margaret Atwood
The remarkable ongoing impact of The Handmaids Tale has underlined something we may sometimes take for granted: Atwood has been at the centre of our culture for longer than any other writer. At 80 she shows no sign of slowing down, and of all the praise we can bestow on her, theres none more telling than the fact that we have no real idea what she might do next.
Paul Simon showcased an undeniable energy and commitment to his art at the Bell Centre in 2018.Allen McInnis / Montreal Gazette files
Charles Taylor
The acclaimed and influential 88-year-old philosopher is Susan Pinkers nomination for this list.Everybody has their own way of being human, something we each have to find in our own way, he told the Montreal Gazette in 2018. Thats something that needs to be articulated, and you find youre missing something if youre not going outside the usual objective factors and quantifiable things.
Larry David
Hailed as a style icon on the cover of the February issue of GQ magazine, David was already something of a late bloomer when he came to prominence as co-creator of Seinfeld. Now 72 and still very much visible as the face of Curb Your Enthusiasm, David found his niche by acknowledging indeed, embracing and celebrating his inner curmudgeon. Happiness is where you find it.
Sheila Fischman
The doyenne of Canadian literary translation remains on the job at 82, rendering Quebec writers like Kim Thy accessible to English-language readers just as she did for the first wave of modern Qubcois writers in the 1960s, and for every generation since.
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Looking age in the eye: Daniel J. Levitin on how to live well, not just longer - Montreal Gazette