4 ms·

I'm just thinking that some of the longest living people are monks. They don't really exercise that much.

Libcat99 3y ago
A lot of the longest living people (and maybe more telling, communities with the longest living members) are not very gym focused at all. If you walk everywhere every day, do most of your daily chores by hand, and don't sit in an office all day, you are likely getting plenty of exercise even if you never touch a set of weights or treadmill.
- unnamed76ri 3y ago
  You’re also very unlikely to be eating a lot of ultra-processed foods and you’ll be getting a lot more natural sunlight than most.
  - agos 3y ago
    I'm not an expert on monk lifestyle but I'm pretty confident they lead a less stressful life than most here
- WalterSear 3y ago
  They also, by definition, came of age when we knew much less about longevity. They may not necessary be living the most longevity promoting lifestyle - just one that's markedly better than the average.
- dukeofdoom 3y ago
  I would agree with that. Maybe walking is key. After visiting Paris, and seeing lots fit people despite a diet of croissants, baguette, butter and cheese. But they also walk so much...
thsksbd 3y ago
They're also the diametric opposite of idle. I know a guy who almost became a zen monk. By march he writes the allotted number of scientific papers for the year (he works for a govt lab). He's the editor of the top journal in his field. Meanwhile, he's self taught himself philosophy and teaches it (pro bono?) at a University you've heard of. He also reads >150 books / year
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  > at a University you've heard of. Cal State Humboldt?
  - thsksbd 3y ago
    No, East coast. Not an Ivy
    - thaumasiotes 3y ago
      Ah, City University of New York?
- dukeofdoom 3y ago
  Ten+ books a month. Humbled. I need to read more ..
  - thsksbd 3y ago
    I think of it as a book every two and a half days. Note he doesn't have kids and spends half his workday reading books. He writes the list down and at the end of every year he sends it to me (I asked him to). It ain't light reading.
NoZebra120vClip 3y ago
You don't really understand what a Catholic monk's life is like, do you? Monks traditionally and currently do hard manual labour. They may work on a garden, farm, distilling equipment, artisanal endeavours such as carpentry. Monks (and nuns as well) have to do all the work in a monastery, which includes the daily chores, the cooking and cleaning. What did you expect, that they have servants to do that for them? Plus, most healthy religious communities believe in real recreation on days of rest, and so they engage in athletics and sports as well. It's actually absurd to conceive of monks who are sedentary or lazy, no matter what the time period or region they may occupy.
- dukeofdoom 3y ago
  Even if this is true. What you might be observing is the effect not the cause. In other words ... older people that are healthier are able to exercise more. Just a thought. Statistical effects can really mess with people's perception of cause and effect. "Survivorship bias or survival bias is the logical error of concentrating on entities that passed a selection process while overlooking those that did not." A classic example of something like it, is during WW I the British saw a lot of airplanes were coming back with fuselage damage. So they started reinforcing the fuselage. Why this is a logical mistake is that these were the surviving airplanes.
  - nottorp 3y ago
    > older people that are healthier are able to exercise more. Just a thought. I'll raise you: if you exercise regularly you'll be able to exercise more in the future and stay healthier.
    - discreteevent 3y ago
      It's both. If you don't exercise at all you will waste away - the older you are the worse this gets. But I know two people a little over 80. Both were very active people up to about 5 years ago when one got arthritic hip and knee issues for which there is no easy fix. They are nearly debilitated and this is affecting the rest of their health. The second person just keeps on going. The first person would definitely be the same if not for the issues.
amai 3y ago
Ora et labora.

A lot of the longest living people (and maybe more telling, communities with the longest living members) are not very gym focused at all. If you walk everywhere every day, do most of your daily chores by hand, and don't sit in an office all day, you are likely getting plenty of exercise even if you never touch a set of weights or treadmill.

unnamed76ri 3y ago
You’re also very unlikely to be eating a lot of ultra-processed foods and you’ll be getting a lot more natural sunlight than most.
- agos 3y ago
  I'm not an expert on monk lifestyle but I'm pretty confident they lead a less stressful life than most here
WalterSear 3y ago
They also, by definition, came of age when we knew much less about longevity. They may not necessary be living the most longevity promoting lifestyle - just one that's markedly better than the average.
dukeofdoom 3y ago
I would agree with that. Maybe walking is key. After visiting Paris, and seeing lots fit people despite a diet of croissants, baguette, butter and cheese. But they also walk so much...

thsksbd 3y ago

They're also the diametric opposite of idle. I know a guy who almost became a zen monk. By march he writes the allotted number of scientific papers for the year (he works for a govt lab). He's the editor of the top journal in his field. Meanwhile, he's self taught himself philosophy and teaches it (pro bono?) at a University you've heard of. He also reads >150 books / year

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
thaumasiotes 3y ago
> at a University you've heard of. Cal State Humboldt?
- thsksbd 3y ago
  No, East coast. Not an Ivy
  - thaumasiotes 3y ago
    Ah, City University of New York?
dukeofdoom 3y ago
Ten+ books a month. Humbled. I need to read more ..
- thsksbd 3y ago
  I think of it as a book every two and a half days. Note he doesn't have kids and spends half his workday reading books. He writes the list down and at the end of every year he sends it to me (I asked him to). It ain't light reading.

NoZebra120vClip 3y ago

You don't really understand what a Catholic monk's life is like, do you? Monks traditionally and currently do hard manual labour. They may work on a garden, farm, distilling equipment, artisanal endeavours such as carpentry. Monks (and nuns as well) have to do all the work in a monastery, which includes the daily chores, the cooking and cleaning. What did you expect, that they have servants to do that for them? Plus, most healthy religious communities believe in real recreation on days of rest, and so they engage in athletics and sports as well. It's actually absurd to conceive of monks who are sedentary or lazy, no matter what the time period or region they may occupy.

dukeofdoom 3y ago
Even if this is true. What you might be observing is the effect not the cause. In other words ... older people that are healthier are able to exercise more. Just a thought. Statistical effects can really mess with people's perception of cause and effect. "Survivorship bias or survival bias is the logical error of concentrating on entities that passed a selection process while overlooking those that did not." A classic example of something like it, is during WW I the British saw a lot of airplanes were coming back with fuselage damage. So they started reinforcing the fuselage. Why this is a logical mistake is that these were the surviving airplanes.
- nottorp 3y ago
  > older people that are healthier are able to exercise more. Just a thought. I'll raise you: if you exercise regularly you'll be able to exercise more in the future and stay healthier.
  - discreteevent 3y ago
    It's both. If you don't exercise at all you will waste away - the older you are the worse this gets. But I know two people a little over 80. Both were very active people up to about 5 years ago when one got arthritic hip and knee issues for which there is no easy fix. They are nearly debilitated and this is affecting the rest of their health. The second person just keeps on going. The first person would definitely be the same if not for the issues.

amai 3y ago

Ora et labora.