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| Grandma Moses |
Do you know writers
tend to live longer? That is if they don’t take up mountain climbing, bull
riding, sky diving, car racing or other dangerous activities. I found this out
by reading a recent article, The Art of
Living by Jeffrey Kluger in TIME Magazine. It’s not just writers, but all
people who are doing what they enjoy if it involves creativity and not sitting
in front of a TV most of the day, shopping or cleaning the house. Yes, there
are those who love cleaning. I read in some woman’s obituary once – “she
loved cleaning her house.” I forget her age, but she wasn’t too elderly.
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| Frank Lloyd Wrigh |
Kluger used examples
like Frank Lloyd Wright, Benjamin Franklin and Herman Wouk, 98, who recently
published his 18th novel last year. Grandma Moses didn’t start
painting until she was 76 and she lived to be 101 and Igor Stravinsky produced
his masterpiece, Agon, when he was in
his 70s. Picasso died at age 91 and still had paint under his nails. And it’s
not just writers, artists, musicians and designers, who we consider creative,
but doctors, lawyers, teachers and people like Warren Buffet, who certainly
didn’t amass his huge fortune by not only being astute but also creative. P.G. Wodehouse, a favorite author of mine
whose birthday was a few days ago, lived to be 93 and wrote over a hundred
books. Since his books are delightfully funny, in his case especially, I
believe the happiness factor in doing what we love enhances longevity.
Certainly there have been many writers, poets, artists and other creative
people who didn’t live a long life so it’s not a given that if you start
writing poetry or painting you’ll beat an early death.
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| Picasso |
It’s assumed our brains
wear out as we age, and that’s why we forget where we left the car keys, can’t
quickly find that word we want or can’t remember the name of the person who
greets us at the grocery store and we haven’t seen in a long while. Of course,
that’s not my opinion. I think as we age we accumulate such a vast amount of
knowledge, important or not, that it takes longer to search through all that information
to find what we want. Researchers are now finding that the brain regenerates as
we age by adding myelination, the growth of fatty insulation on neurons that
keep the brain circuits running smoothly up into our 60s. Although that aspect
of the brain can regenerate at least until the 60s, our computing memory slows
and becomes less agile. No longer can we balance numerous ideas at once like
younger people can. However, it’s now when the two hemispheres of the brain
start helping each other out and actually enhance creativity. For the aging, as
the brain becomes less structured, “Your inhibitions get taken away a little
bit,” Dr. George Bartzokis, UCLA, says and, “That process of losing things may
actually make you more creative.”
Mortality also motivates a lot of older
people, a sense that time is winding down for them and they need to create
something that will outlast them. Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton of the University of
California at Davis collected a sample group of 1,919 compositions written by
172 classical composers and compared how highly the works were rated by
musicologists with how close the creation of those works came to the composers’
deaths. He found the higher the compositions were rated, was when “death was
raising a fist to knock on the door.” That sounds depressing, but how much
better to live one’s life to the fullest right to the end.
Just as your muscles
will atrophy by not exercising in some way “When you use your brain a lot as
opposed to sitting around looking at the wall, you’re repairing things
centrally,” Bartzokis says. It’s important to have both physical and mental
health. And much research has shown happy people live longer so that’s where
doing something you love that’s both creative and also keeping physically
active promises you a longer and more fulfilling life. Now just where did I put
my glasses?
What do you most enjoy
doing?
Do you think it helps
you more mentally or physically or both?
This post was a welcome read, Gloria. Everyone ages, but I doubt few look forward to "old-age". I feel as though I've progressed vastly from my youth. I'd much rather be me now than me then. Writing mysteries in which all the details much fit exercises the brain and keeps us sharp. Put that together with creative killing and the older population is deadly. I also workout at the gym. Keeping physically exercised provides a good platform for thought.
ReplyDeleteI so agree with you, E.B. I'm happier now than I've ever been, and I know writing has a lot to do with it. Yes, I still have to search for that word sometimes that is lurking there, but I know my mind would be a lot slower if it wasn't for the mental stimulation of writing mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI don't go to a gym, but I do walk in the woods every morning and garden from early spring to late fall most days - weather permitting.
It makes sense that exercising your brain keeps in strong, and using creativity accomplishes just that. This is what worries me about schools that shut down arts programs!
ReplyDeleteI so totally agree with you, Carla. Music and art are very important to enrich the mind and from what I've read, increase intelligence.
ReplyDeleteLoved this, Gloria. And I agree with you and Carla - the arts are so necessary at every age. It's painful to think that some children are never exposed to the things that can enrich their minds and spirits throughout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI write, play bridge and do some teaching, all of which provide intellectual stimulation.
ReplyDeleteKnock wood, historically we Jacksons have declined physically before mentally, and I'm hoping that is the case for me.
~ Jim
Great post, Gloria! Writing is one profession in which you can continue to stay active until you die, just about. I think that helps writers to live longer.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Gloria! I agree that exercising your brain and getting a jolt from doing what you love is so important, at any age. Like Linda alluded to, I think we're all lucky to have fallen in love with something we can do at any age. Ah, writing, you lovely activity, you.
ReplyDeleteShari, I agree because so many kids are not exposed to any music other than what is popular at the moment and never art except for commercials on TV.
ReplyDeleteJames, that's been true with my family, too, except for my father, who had a massive stroke a year and a half before he died.
I agree with you, Linda. Most professions have a limited time frame, but writing or painting can go on and on.
Love this blog, Gloria. I’m inspired that Grandma Moses began painting when she was 76. Age isn’t an excuse!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not, Kara. A lot of people wait until they retire from 9 to 5 jobs to seek work or activities that are creative. Of course, there are those who don't know what to do with themselves once they retire and they vegetate and die young.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if writing (and other creative pursuits) contributes to a longer life, but writing is definitely something we can do as we get older, and in fact we probably get better at it and have more experiences to share.
ReplyDeleteKM, I so totally agree with that. The many life experiences we have can only add to our knowledge and creativity.
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