Money Can Buy You a Longer Life -- To a Point

 

"The rich get richer -- and older. People with high salaries and net worth tend to live longer lives, research shows.

Once Americans make it to their late 50s, the wealthiest 10% live to a median age of around 86 years, roughly 14 years longer than the least wealthy 10%, according to a study published earlier this year in JAMA Internal Medicine.

People with more money can afford healthier food, more healthcare and homes in safer, less-polluted neighborhoods, says Kathryn Himmelstein, a co-author of the study and a medical director at the Boston Public Health Commission.

Though you can't add more months or years to your online shopping cart yet, health and aging researchers say there are ways to spend money to improve your chances of living longer. 

They suggest favoring purchases that help you track your health, stay active and reduce stress.

"We know the things that help us age better, and everyone's always disappointed when you tell them," says Andrew Scott, director of economics at the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford, England. 

"Eat less and eat better, sleep more, exercise more and spend time with friends."

Much of that is possible without pulling out your wallet, but each can also be helped along with some strategic spending.

One way to try to buy more longevity is to focus on spending that provides multiple health and social benefits, says Corinna Loeckenhoff, a gerontologist at Cornell University.

"I often tell people one of the best ways to stay physically and cognitively fit is to go into ballroom dancing," she says.

Loeckenhoff also recommends using money to knock down barriers in your life that get in the way of healthy routines.

For example, if you want to exercise more but can't easily go to the gym because you have young children, buy equipment you can use at home. If you want to cook more but don't feel confident in the kitchen, spend on cooking classes.

Of course, money can be spent unhealthily. Meanwhile, plenty of things that are good for you don't come with a bill, such as going on a walk or minimizing screen time before bedtime. Some recommendations, such as drinking less alcohol and eating less restaurant food, might actually save you money.

But certain gadgets and luxuries can be worth the cost, some researchers say.

Devices such as the Apple Watch and Oura Ring can instill healthy habits and catch worrying patterns that might emerge between annual checkups, says Joe Coughlin, the director of the MIT AgeLab.

"It's in front of you all the time," he says. "It prompts awareness and therefore prompts action."

Higher incomes correlate with longer lives, but there are diminishing returns. Each successive jump in pay is linked to smaller boosts in longevity, a 2016 study from the research group Opportunity Insights found.

On average, someone with a household income of $14,000 would live about 10 fewer months than someone making $20,000, per the study's calculations, which used inflation-adjusted 2012 dollars. That same 10-month gap exists between household incomes of roughly $160,000 and $225,000, as well as between $225,000 and $1.95 million.

A key to the relationship between income and longevity is that money doesn't just buy stuff that helps you live longer. It also buys time and reduces stress. "If you've got a nice place to live and you don't have to worry about food on the table, you have the mental head space and resources to prioritize your health," says Steven Woolf, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.

Someone juggling multiple jobs might not have the free time and flexibility to exercise regularly or cook a nutritious meal at home. Moreover, many lower-income jobs are more physically taxing and more prone to workplace accidents and exposure to harmful substances.

But money's influence on lifespan operates on more than just an individual level. Richer people live in richer communities, which in turn tend to have less violence and higher-quality schools, parks, housing and other infrastructure.

Trying out new activities and hobbies is also a worthy investment of money and time, say researchers who study aging.

After 60- to 90-year-olds spent 15 hours a week for three months learning new skills in quilting and digital photography, their brain function showed improvement as much as a year later, according to a 2015 study by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas." [1]

1.  Money Can Buy You a Longer Life -- To a Point. Pinsker, Joe.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 31 Dec 2024: A10.