Live Long with Peter Bowes

A simple smile, a friendly gesture or an offer of help and friendship, could help us all live longer, healthier lives. International Day of Happiness (March 20) is celebrated by the United Nations as a way to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.  There is scientific data that suggests people who embrace the benefits of a positive attitude, are rewarded wit...

How many times have you checked your ‘likes' or searched for positive feedback in your social media feed today?  Perhaps you’re the kind of person who always strives to be perfect and feels deflated when you fail to live up to your own expectations. What about being judged by others for not achieving your full potential? Perfectionism, says Dr. Thomas Curran, is “everyone’s perfect flaw.” Dr....

Every two seconds, someone in the world will have a stroke. Almost two-thirds of survivors leave hospital with some form of disability.  It is a battle against time to get the most appropriate medical intervention and treatment for stroke victims and every second counts. Viz.ai , a San Francisco-based applied artificial intelligence company, was established by British neurosurgeon Dr. Chris Mansi...

The sudden onset of a common cold or the flu can stop us in our tracks. Seasonal outbreaks of infectious diseases can be both debilitating and irritating, especially for those people who strive to live a healthy lifestyle.  But are they inevitable? Lydia Bourouiba is the director of the Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her work invol...

What if we could screen the body for early signs of disease by swallowing a tiny capsule, packed with futuristic diagnostic tools? Prof. Timothy Lu, a synthetic biologist at MIT, draws on his combined expertise in computer programming, electrical engineering, and microbiology, to envision as an entirely new way of practicing preventative medicine. The idea is that capsules packed with tiny electro...

The Beatles song, When I’m Sixty-Four, pays homage to the aging process and is a tribute to the value of enduring friendships. The light-hearted ditty encapsulates some of the values and aspirations of The SCAN Foundation, which focusses on improving the quality of health and life for older people.  SCAN’s mission is to advance a coordinated and easily navigated system of high-quality services for...

The cumulative effects of chronic sleep deprivation could be shortening our lives. There is evidence that killer diseases are more likely to occur if we get too little sleep over a prolonged period. One reason why we may not be getting enough shut-eye is excessive noise. Mathias Basner is Associate Professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School...

’Tis the season to be stressed, overwhelmed and chronically fatigued. There’s a festive thought. But that feeling of being swamped by to-do lists, meetings, appointments, shopping lists and good old daily chores, is not exclusive to the holiday season. We live connected lives - sharing, posting and liking - often at the expense of more wholesome activities such as spending quality time with loved...

Royce Smith lifts weights with his gym buddies every morning at 5am. Then he goes to work - at one of two companies he runs - and puts in a full day in the office. He competes in obstacle course events like the Spartan Race, has a busy family life and at the age of 76, enjoys the best of health. What is his secret?  In many ways Royce epitomizes a lifestyle that promotes a long health span. In thi...

A decade ago Mark Figearo’s health was in such a perilous state that his doctors feared the worst. With a family history of heart problems the California businessman knew he had to take drastic action to reverse the inevitable decline in his health.  Now aged 68, Mark works out five days a week and is a keen obstacle course racer.  This is the second in our series of interviews at Results Fitness,...

Rachel Cosgrove was always the coach and mentor that everyone in the gym looked up to. Lean, strong and successful she was the model, middle-aged athlete - a go-getter fitness coach who inspired her clients. But as Rachel turned forty she realized that she no longer had the body of an elite athlete.  The co-owner of Results Fitness in Newhall, California, was putting on weight and becoming a mid-l...

When Captain Derek Herrera was shot by a sniper in Afghanistan his life was forever changed. Paralysed from the chest down, he left the military to embark on a new career in medical technology.  He devoured the scientific literature to try to find solutions to the chronic disabilities he faced. One problem, neurogenic bladder dysfunction - an inability to control the bladder - mirrored the difficu...

Advancements in science and technology make it easier and more fulfilling to grow old. But Paul Irving, chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, says if we are to realize the “longevity dividend,” society must play a bigger role in promoting healthy and purposeful aging. Paul is also the chairman of Encore.org and distinguished scholar in residence at the USC Davis School o...

Money worries in old age are an everyday concern for a huge number of senior citizens around the world.  In the United States, one in seven live in poverty. It is an unacceptable number and Dr. Paulo Narciso, Vice President of Impact Areas for the AARP Foundation, is determined to reduce it.  He and his colleagues are using financial technology to help vulnerable older adults save for unexpected e...

Maureen Feldman runs the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s (MPTF) Social Isolation Impact Project. The program brings together volunteers and entertainment veterans who are in need of some company. It may come as a surprise, but even in Hollywood, loneliness is at chronic levels amongst older adults. The project is working to unite isolated senior citizens with younger, like-minded profession...

Dr. Scott Kaiser is a practicing geriatrician at the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF), a charitable organization that provides services, support, and assistance to the Hollywood community. As the MPTF’s Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Kaiser is committed to creating communities that support peoples' ability to live and age well, with dignity and purpose. A passionate advocate for the...

Sean Vassilaros is the Chief Operating Officer with THREAD, a virtual research platform that helps researchers gather data for clinical research.  The company has developed the concept of a virtual visit.  It enables researchers to connect with patients and volunteers via a video chat instead of requiring them to attend on-site clinic visits. The idea is that it saves time and money over conventio...

Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. She has a unique perspective on the struggles and life-stopping events that can derail even those of us who are committed to living the best life possible. Her mother passed away from a brain aneurysm when Amy was 23. Three years on her 26-year-old husband died of a heart attack and a few years later, her f...

Satchin Panda is a professor at the Salk Institute and a founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego.  Dr. Panda is also the author of a new book, The Circadian Code, in which he explains his theory that our overall health and longevity is affected more by when we eat than what we eat. Timing, he says, is  everything.  Limiting the numbe...

Molly Maloof is a medical doctor based in San Francisco, where she serves as the Head of Medical Science for Sano Intelligence, a company developing a real-time continuous glucose monitoring patch. Dr. Maloof is a strong proponent of using biomarkers, particularly glucose levels, which she describes as the “ultimate lifestyle biomarker,” as a tool to improve a person's health and nurture thei...

Carol Rosenstein is the cofounder of Music Mends Minds. Launched in Los Angeles, with her husband Irwin, the nonprofit organization creates musical groups for people with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and similar disorders.. Music is a universal language that bridges cultures, defies barriers and brings joy to our lives. However, for those with neurological conditions, music can do much more than eleva...

Dr. Kerry Burnight is the Chief Gerontologist at GrandPad, a company that designs simple and easy to use electronic tablets for people 75 and older.  New technology presents a wealth of opportunities for connecting with others. Family members across the world can video chat from mobile phones at a moment's notice, and long-lost friends from elementary school can easily reconnect. But Dr. Burn...

Tracy McCubbin helps others declutter for a living. As we get older, many people find it hard to let go of stuff they've accumulated over the decades. But letting go is often a transformational experience. Tracy, through her Los Angeles-based company, dClutterfly, helps retirees prioritize essential items for the next phase in their lives, and advises the elderly on parting ways with items th...

Suzi Grant personifies the art of growing old with purpose and a huge sense of fun. At 68 she is an Instagram star, a successful  blogger  and poster girl for healthy aging.  A formerly hard-drinking, chain-smoking radio and TV journalist, Suzi traded her unhealthy habits for an alternative way of living as a nutritionist and writer.  Based in Brighton in the UK, she blogs at  Alternative Ageing  ...

Spartan Races have become a worldwide phenomenon. Weekend warriors and elite, endurance athletes go into battle on military-style obstacle courses, mostly just for the fun of it. The Spartan Race is the brainchild of Joe De Sena, a former Wall Street trader who was so bothered by his sedentary lifestyle, that he gave up his lucrative career to spend more time outside. He quickly became addicted to...