Life Expectancy Just Hit the Lowest Point in Decades. Here’s a Leading Physician’s Formula (and 4 Simple Tests) for Living a Longer, Healthier Life

Entrepreneurs are known for many things. Work ethic. Creativity. Grit. Adaptability. Determination. Taking intelligent risks. 

And not taking care of their physical (and mental) health. Research published in The Journal of Socio-Economics found that business owners face significantly higher stress levels than employees. At least one study found that employers work approximately 20 percent more hours per week than employees. A 2015 study found that entrepreneurs are twice as likely to experience depression and three times as likely to suffer from addiction. 

To quote a 2018 study published in Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice:

The list of pathogenic candidates is nearly endless including role conflicts, work-family balance issues, and financial problems.

The reputation entrepreneurs have for neglecting their health? It’s clearly well-deserved, in spite of the fact longevity is important to all of us. 

We all want to live long, healthy lives. And if that’s not reason enough for all the hyper-driven, Type A super-achievers out there? Also because, as Warren Buffett, clearly an authority on longevity and success, says, longevity is an important component of success. And also because the older you are, the more likely you are to be able to start a thriving business.

Longevity matters. 

Unfortunately, the CDC just announced the average life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level in 25 years. (The new average is 76.4.) Covid-19 has clearly played a role. So has an increase in drug-related deaths. 

Add to that heart disease and cancer, for decades the leading causes of premature death. In fact, up to half of all premature or early deaths in the U.S. are due to behavioral and other preventable factors like tobacco use, poor diet, and lack of exercise. Those last two? They don’t tend to be a busy, overworked, and overstressed entrepreneur’s best friends.

Unless you focus on the words “behavioral” and “preventable.”

One way to do that?

Embrace the Rule of 6 + 2

According to Dr. Michael Roizen, the author of The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow, longevity depends on what you do most of the time.

Eat poorly and don’t exercise and your risk of heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, diabetes, and dementia skyrockets. Enjoy an occasional cheat day? Go a little nutty over the holidays? Miss a couple of workouts? 

Over the long haul, no big deal.

The key is to consistently — not perfectly, but consistently — make healthy choices that help prevent chronic disease and set you up for a long life. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink to excess. Get a good night’s sleep. Eat a healthy diet. Exercise a few times a week.

Simple stuff. You know what to do. The key is actually doing it.

How will you know it’s working? 

Roizen’s barometer for health success is “6 Normals + 2.” Here are the “Normals.”

1. Regain and maintain normal blood pressure. While we’re all individuals, a good target is 110/75. 

2. Regain and maintain a healthy level of LDL cholesterol. The target is 100 milligrams per deciliter. 

3. Regain and maintain a healthy fasting blood glucose level. The target is 100 milligrams per deciliter or below. 

4. Maintain a healthy weight for your height. The target for adults is between 18.5 and 24.9. (Here’s a chart.)

But keep this in mind. Most people use body mass index (BMI) to determine a “healthy” weight. But muscle, or lack of, matters. A six feet tall NFL cornerback who weighs 215 pounds has a BMI of 29.2. That puts him at the high end of the “overweight” category, even though by any objective measure he’s incredibly fit. Your body fat percentage is probably a better indication of whether you’re maintaining a healthy weight. 

Even so, start with BMI. It’s at least directionally accurate, especially if you fall on a further end of the spectrum.

5. Practice ongoing stress management. Roizen’s target is to “sleep well and feel at ease in your own skin.” But don’t just think of sleep in terms of longevity; a 2018 study found that lack of sleep correlates with tension, anxiety, and lower overall mood. Sleep is good for you later, and good for you now.

As for stress? Here are three science-backed ways to better deal with stress.

6. Have no primary, secondary, or tertiary smoke from tobacco in your body. If you aren’t familiar, tertiary smoke involves pollutants that settle indoors when tobacco is smoked. Think couches, curtains, bedspreads, etc. Roizen’s target? Declare yourself a smoke-free zone.

Now for the “Plus 2.”

1. Get a full body checkup. You are what you measure, and you can’t know your numbers — and if necessary, work to improve them — until you get your numbers.

(Another way to get a set of “numbers”? Take these four simple tests. While “passing” any of them doesn’t guarantee lower mortality risk, each test does involve some degree of causality.)

2. Keep your vaccinations up to date. Roizen recommends that everyone get an annual flu shot since it can decrease flu and lung problems as well as reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. He also recommends people aged 50-plus get the shingles vaccine, and those 65 and over get the pneumonia vaccine.

Working on Your 6 + 2

Roizen’s advice is pretty simple. For diet, eliminate saturated fats and added sugars. Eat whole grains, seven to nine servings of vegetables and fruits, and stick to lean proteins like fish and chicken. (Yep: Think Mediterranean diet.) Consider taking a multivitamin, too.

For exercise, walk the equivalent of 10,000 steps a day, and do strength training two or three times a week for 20 minutes per session. As for stress, get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, consider meditating, get out in nature once in a while, and spend time with your family and friends. Don’t smoke, and avoid second- and thirdhand smoke as best you can.

And here’s the key: Don’t expect to be perfect. The goal is to be consistent. Sometimes you may eat really healthy, but fall a little short on exercise. Sometimes you may get plenty of sleep, but spend time around people who smoke. No one is great at everything.

The key is to approach your health the same way you approach your business. With focus, determination, effort, and constantly striving to do more of what is good for your business, and for you, and to do that “more” a lot more often.

Because while you are what you currently are, with consistent effort over a period of time, you can become what you hope to someday become.

Especially if one of the things you want to achieve is to be really, really old.