While there are days that not leaving the house sounds like a great idea, you’re not going to want to do that too often if you want to live a long life. In fact, a new study finds that regularly leaving the house could be the key to longevity for older people.
Research out of Israel finds the frequency with which folks in their 70s, 80s, and 90s left their house actually predicted the likelihood of them reaching their next age milestone. Researchers studied data on 3,375 adults ages 70, 78, 85 and 90, lumping them into one of three categories, those who got out frequently (six or seven days a week), often (two or five times a week) and rarely (once a week or less).
What they found was that for all the age groups, those in the frequent category were more likely to live to the next age group. For example, 71% of those age 78 who left the house frequently were likely to live until 85, while 67% who left often made it to that age, but only 43% of those who rarely left the house got to celebrate 85.
So, what is it about getting out that helps people live longer? Well, researchers suggest it’s about more than just moving. “We included people who had mobility difficulties, so this isn’t just about people moving their legs up and down,” Dr. Jeremy Jacobs of Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem, explains, “That’s quite exciting. There’s something about interacting with the world outside that helps.”
Source: Yahoo