This text belongs to the Vivo newsletter, which is sent every Saturday. If you want to receive it, sign up here.
This week, research from the universities of Stanford (United States), Luxembourg and Greifswald (Germany) has reopened a very recurrent debate in newspaper editorial offices: At what age are we old? When exactly does old age begin? And the answer is very volatile, the threshold of senescence is fluid and depends not only on biological age but also on personal health, cognitive capacity and other factors.
The statistical barrier of 65 years old no longer serves to settle the issue. There are experts who recommend a moving range linked to life expectancy, although a distinction is now beginning to be made between this concept, prospective age and health expectancy to defend that the ideal retirement age should not move much from what is expected. now governs in Spain. This latest article by our collaborator Antonio Ortí, along with another by the specialist Daniella Vellone on the signs that can warn of the onset of dementia after the age of 50, were the ones that generated the most subscribers for Vivo last year, which certifies the interest that longevity issues arouse.
The truth is that from the first day you are called sir in an elevator and the first time someone kindly gives you your seat on a bus or subway – yes, it still happens – a life passes with the same speed with which you blow the candles on the birthday cakes. Luckily, there is more and more rigorous information available on healthy habits, nutrition and psychology so that we can guide our lives along the path of longevity, as long as we also have genes on our side. There are no infallible recipes, but there are recommendable ones like this one proposed by Rosanna Carceller, the person responsible for the contents of the Longevity section.
I return to the reality of the newsrooms. We have already practically banished the words old men and women and we rarely resort to using old age. Older adults and maturity are the expressions that we write the most in Vivo. But we continue to discuss whether maturity begins at 50 or earlier, or is confused with what used to be old age or what age group corresponds to what is now called seniors or silvers. The important thing is to enjoy and not stop doing, like this Argentine journalist and lawyer who has been proclaimed Miss Universe Buenos Aires at the age of 60, beating a 73-year-old finalist. It is never too late for anything, not to fall in love… not to get divorced. .
? I’m thinking about retiring early. And does it cost me? Many workers begin to ponder this question when the idea of ??retirement is no longer something very distant and worth meditating on. Careful! Before dreaming, think that not everyone can benefit from this measure. Here we provide the keys to evaluate the decision.
? Forgetfulness and confusion. Harvard calls them ‘senior moments’, but if one day you leave the TV remote on the refrigerator or forget the name of a friend’s child you don’t always have to worry. Some of us were born clueless, what are we going to do? When do the alarms really go off? In this article, which was one of the most read of 2023, we explain it to you.
? Bridgeable age differences. María Gasa, 28, and Sara Amat, 59, are the couple posing in the photo above. They have been together for six years and married for five and they walk their love with pride despite the looks of disapproval and contempt they feel and perceive. They give their testimony in this magnificent report by Abril Phillips about how to sustain a relationship when the ages are very different.
? Artificial Intelligence Influencers. Alba Renai, the virtual presenter of the Tele 5 program ‘Survivors’, is the latest and controversial contribution to this industry of models and influencers generated by AI. With profiles on networks in which a community manager comments on the hobbies of the ‘chatgptiana’ influencer and interacts with real people, the world of entertainment enters a new reality. Companies like The Clueless have emerged in Barcelona, ??which presents itself as the first Spanish AI modeling agency. Our collaborator Susana Pérez Soler has spoken with them.
? University not only for neurotypicals. Higher education is beginning to adapt to be able to serve students with dyslexia, ASD or ADHD. Those who received these diagnoses as children were doomed to fail in school. But times have changed and progress has been made in the inclusion of neurodiverse people. Collaborator Begoña Gómez Urzaiz, one of the souls of Vivo, tells it in this inspiring article.
? No fear of missing out. I promised it in the first newsletter and this week the interview with the Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann, the guru of JOMO, the current that postulates a type of life in which we stop looking for how to do, experience and consume more and more, has already been published. . The complete opposite of FOMO, the fear of missing out. Brinkmann has recently published the book The Joy of Missing Things (Koan).
? Like rock stars. Writers, especially foreign ones, love the day of Sant Jordi because nowhere else or on any other day are they such protagonists and have such close contact with their readers. It is perfectly understood in this chronicle by Begoña Gómez Urzaiz in the Culture section of La Vanguardia. Earning that privilege is complicated. You must have thought, written and published a book. And it is not easy, especially when it is non-fiction, like Recover your mind, reconquer your life, by psychiatrist Marian Rojas Estapé, which was the best seller in that category.
? How much do you walk each day? The colleagues of the Healthline channel have taken care to count the steps we take every day, many of them inadvertently. We already know that the famous goal of 10,000 had no basis other than being a publicity stunt and that the recommended dose is 4,000 daily. But in this investigation they have counted the different records between professions, for example. Yes, as expected, a waiter is the one who moves the most during his work day, but it seems that teachers are losing the habit of walking among the students while they teach.
? The survey. Thank you for continuing to send emails to the question we ask you every week. We will group your responses and summarize them in future newsletters. Meanwhile, I present to you this week’s survey. Do you live as a couple but sleep separately? Because? Send your comments to vivo@lavanguardia.es. Spending the night each person in their own bed was a custom that never completely went away and that many people continue to practice for reasons of comfort or to avoid annoying snoring, among other reasons. When we published an article on the subject months ago, it sparked great controversy within the editorial team. What is your case?
