(ThySistas.com) It’s not something we tend to think about, but we’re living in pretty special times. If you were born, say, one hundred and fifty years ago, then you’d be fortunate to make it to age sixty. Indeed, go even further back, and surviving childhood would be cause for celebration. Indeed, they say that Shakespeare’s greatest achievement may not have been writing Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, but making it to adulthood, such was the high rate of infant mortality back then. And there’s good news: we’re not finished yet. In the decades to come and beyond, we’re all going to be living even longer years. We take a look at some of the reasons for this below.
There’s Greater Transparency
Those poor people back in the forties and fifties. They were sold cigarettes, which they were told would cause them no harm whatsoever. How wrong they were! Actually, if you go back even further, you’ll see that people weren’t just encouraged to smoke cigarettes; they were given them! Soldiers were given packs because they were thought it would reduce stress. Fortunately, today we know better. And it’s not just the “obvious” stuff like smoking – we understand the negative effects of drinking alcohol, eating unhealthy foods, and so on. Today, you can research whether an activity or substance is good or bad for you – if you choose to do it anyway, then at least you only have yourself to blame.
New Medicines
In the past, if you contracted an illness that was untreatable, then you just had to pray for the best. Today, not so. Illnesses that would have been a death knell one hundred years – in some cases, even thirty years ago – are easily treated with medicines. There was a rapid development in medical options after the end of world war II, and we’re still reaping the benefits today. Indeed, they think that in twenty years or so, ALL cancers will have been cured. It’s pretty amazing what humans can achieve when they all work together!
The Medical Tech Field Is Expanding
And it’s not medicines that are helping people to live longer. Technology is too, in a variety of ways. There are better screening processes. We’re able to talk to experts via the internet, to determine whether our issue is worth a trip to the doctor or not. Companies like LaserLight.com are using precise laser drilling techniques to make medical equipment safer, more advanced, and more reliable. If you take a look at some of the medical instruments that were used in the past, then you can feel pretty grateful that you’re living in a period where doctors can use high-end technology to cure your ailments.
Less Accidents
It’s not just medical conditions that cause the loss of life. Accidents do, too. If all our cars were unsafe, then we’d have many a person dying on the roads every day – these numbers actually aren’t all that great at the moment, but they are improved, and will continue to do so. Car safety has come a long way, especially in the past ten years or so. It seems incredible to think that there was once upon a time when vehicles didn’t have seatbelts or airbags! Other forms of transport – indeed, most everything – is much safer than in the past, which means more people have the opportunity to make it through to old age.
Global Wars
There’s a sad truth about humanity. In the past, it wasn’t necessarily accidents that caused a loss of life: it was war. During World War I, for example, eighteen million people lost their lives. This kind of disaster greatly reduced the average lifespan, and cut down healthy men and women who were in their prime. While conflicts to obviously still exist, they do not – yet – exist on the scale of World Wars I and II. The brutality of those wars made sure that treaties and ways of working with one another were put in place to prevent it from happening in the future. Humans do have a tendency to forget the lessons of the past, though, so if you’re ever put in a position to march on the side of peace, then do so!
Better Sanitation
If you want to see how modern beings take life for granted, think about this: it wasn’t all that long ago that toilets didn’t flush. There were no sewage systems. As you can imagine, this lead to illnesses and diseases becoming rife! Today, we’re lucky. Sewage systems are highly advanced, and we have virtually no problems – in the western world at least – when it comes to these types of issues. The spread of diseases used to cut down whole villages in the past. Think of the plague: brought by rats which found that humans lived in conditions that were ideal for them! Now, unless you live in specific areas, you’re unlikely to see a rat as you walk around town – because we’ve got much better at cleaning up after ourselves.
Spotting Diseases Earlier
They say that if you’re in an accident and are still breathing by the time the emergency personnel arrive, then there’s no reason you have to die. It’s a bit similar with disease and illness. If it’s caught early enough, then there are ways to manage and handle the condition, greatly increasing your chances of long-term survival. The good news is that it’s never been easier to catch a disease in its earliest stages. Screening equipment improvements have meant that people no longer have to wait before an illness has reached its late stages – and begun to show its effects – before you can do anything about it.
Food Options
Now, not everything in the modern world is all glitter and gold. Our ancestors were stronger than we were, and most likely ate better food, too. In the past one hundred years, the necessity to manufacture food meant that quality wasn’t always given a priority. In some instances – fast food – it wasn’t on the list of priorities at all. Profit was. Today, that’s slowly beginning to change. There’s been a marked uptick in healthy food options, while those all good “superfoods” have gained steadily in popularity. If you eat more healthy food, you increase your chances of living a longer and healthier life. Simple!
We Can Control Our Stress
There’s a silent killer in society, one that’s going to claim more victims than most of us realize. It’s called stress, and it’s responsible for a whole host of illnesses that can cut a person down. Luckily, we’re able to learn lessons from the more relaxed citizens, and do something to keep our stress levels to a minimum. By practising yoga, meditating, and taking times to do things that relax us, we can keep those stress levels – and the illnesses they cause – at bay.
Greater Access to the Outdoors
Spare a thought for the poor souls who lived in the century after the industrial revolution began. They were crammed into cities. The air was terrible. They were not paid enough to afford trips into the countryside. They weren’t living in an age where they could access the information that would tell them the benefits of nature as easily as we can. Today, we still live in cities, and the air still terrible. But we’re encouraged to get out into the natural world. How much of an effect does this have on how long we live? Well, we can say that the people who live the longest – and who, incidentally, are also the happiest – spend time every day in nature, which is cited as one of several reasons why they prosper in life.
In Contact With the Community
What do humans need to live? Shelter, food, and water is the answer. But actually, there’s one more thing that we might need too – contact with other humans. Studies have shown that people with a support network and a partner live longer than those that don’t. Why is this? No-one can say – it just seems to be an inbuilt need. Some people think we’re less connected today than in the past, but it’s not true – we’re actually more of a society (more tolerant and so on) than in the past, and it’ll only get better.
We’re Getting Smarter All The Time
The reason we can be confident that WE – you, me, the people you know – will live longer is because we’re getting smarter all the time. The next great discovery is buried in the mind of someone who’s currently doing their research, and when they discover it, everything could change. If time is on your side, then you can reasonably expect to live longer than is currently the norm.
There’s No Upper Limit
And finally, remember this: there’s no upper limit when it comes to how long we can live. Now we know that that is possible, everything can be achieved! So let’s see where it goes. Who wants to live forever? We may just get to find out the answer.
Staff Writer; Natasha Poole