World's Oldest Dies + Ten ways to live longer

World's oldest person, Gertrude Baines is dead.

She died in her sleep at Western Convalescent Hospital, her home since she gave up living alone at age 107 after breaking a hip.

Baines was born in Shellman, Ga., on April 6, 1894, when Grover Cleveland was in the White House, radio communication was just being developed and television was still more than a half-century from becoming a ubiquitous household presence.

Baines became a media sensation last year when she cast her vote for Barack Obama. Her vote for Obama, she added, had helped fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing a black man elected president.
“We all the same, only our skin is dark and theirs is white,” said Baines, who was black

The centenarian, who worked as a maid at Ohio State University dormitories until her retirement, had outlived all of her family members. She married young and later divorced. She had a daughter in 1909, her only child. The girl died of typhoid fever at age 18.

May her soul rest in peace

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Speaking og longevity, here are ...
10 ways to live longer.

And this is according to Forbes.com

1. Don't oversleep: Sleeping too much can reduce life expectancy, according to a February 2002 study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The study found that people who sleep more than eight hours per night had a significantly higher death rate than normal. But late-night-party-goers shouldn't rejoice: researches say that sleeping less than four hours also increases death rates. People who sleep between six and seven hours per night were shown to live the longest.

2. Be optimistic: Researchers found that optimistic people had a 50% decreased risk of early death compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism. Those with a positive outlook on life are probably less stressed, better equipped to deal with adversity and, consequently, healthier. Optimists also tend to have lower blood pressure than pessimists, which, again, is most likely related to how positive thinkers respond to stress.

3. Have more sex: There's decent evidence that sex helps keep us healthy, and thus increases longevity. But according to researchers, it's not necessarily an actual biological response generated by sex that makes us live longer. What's more likely is that having intimate sex means you are less stressed, happier and better rested--all factors that can lower blood pressure and protect against stroke and heart disease. A study found that "high ejaculation frequency was related to decreased risk of total prostate cancer."

4. Get a pet: People who own pets, especially dogs, have been shown to be less stressed and require fewer visits to their physicians than non-owners. Survival rates for heart attack victims who had a pet have been shown to be 12% longer than for those who did not have one, according to one of the first studies dealing with the impact pets can have on our health. Pet owners have also been shown to have lower blood pressure. The reasons for these findings are most likely related to an array of psychological factors, such as the facts that owning a pet decreases loneliness and depression, encourages laughter and nurturing, and stimulates exercise.

5. Get a VAP: It's estimated that about half of the people with heart diseases have normal cholesterol levels, which raises serious doubt as to the ability of traditional cholesterol tests to detect risk. But more advanced cholesterol tests, like the VAP test may remedy that. The VAP test measures important metrics, which traditional cholesterol tests miss completely. Unlike a regular test, which only detects half of the people with heart disease, the VAP has been shown to detect 90% of heart disease patients. That's important because lipid abnormalities can most often be rectified with medication and dietary changes. And since the danger of the abnormalities is cumulative, the sooner you start making changes, the better. This simple blood test can be done in most doctors' offices.

6. Be rich: In general, population groups that suffer the worst health status are those that have the highest poverty rates and the least education. One possible explanation for this is that higher incomes permit access to better food and housing, safer neighborhoods and increased medical care. Higher incomes also increase the opportunity to engage in health-promoting behaviors. That's not to say that being very wealthy is always better for longevity--after all, being a chief executive certainly exposes you to a high level of stress that can decrease life expectancy. But according to the data, striving to be financially comfortable is a good goal for aspiring centenarians.

7. Stop smoking: To say that smoking is bad for your health is, of course, not revelatory. But it still cannot be denied that quitting can significantly improve your prospects of living a long life. Middle-aged men who are long-term, heavy smokers face twice the risk of developing more aggressive forms of prostate cancer than men who have never smoked, according to findings. According to a recent study cigarette smoking has been clearly linked to the most common causes of death in the elderly. "Smoking is--for all but some exceptional subjects--incompatible with successful aging and compromises life expectancy even in extreme longevity," the study states.

8. Chill out: A study found that men who were classified as having the highest level of anger in response to stress were over three times more likely to develop premature heart disease when compared to men who reported lower anger responses. Furthermore, they were over six times more likely to have a heart attack by the age of 55. One possible explanation for these dramatic findings is the correlation between anger and high blood pressure, a condition that commonly develops in highly stressed individuals. The lesson here is simple: Try as much as you can to let the unavoidable, everyday stresses roll off your shoulders.

9. Eat your antioxidants: Antioxidants, special substances that are found in foods ranging from cinnamon and cloves to blueberries and artichokes, have the ability to scavenge free radicals, compounds whose unstable chemical nature accelerates the effect of aging on our cells.

10. Marry well: While the phrase "marry well" is typically used to describe people who marry someone rich, we are talking about something entirely different: genetics. Apparently, longevity genes can be inherited. Exceptional longevity and healthy aging is an inherited phenotype across three generations. So, for the bachelors out there deciding between a few women, pick the one whose grandparents are still alive. Of course, this won't make you live longer, but it might help your children.

*Cough* Did they say have more sex? Really? Is that so? Damn, articles like this like drive me nuts...lol

So what other ways do know that can help us live longer? Especially for those of us who live in Naija. Here's one way I know...

Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to live longer, avoid this!!!

*Smile*

Later...