Science Longevity Health

Understanding why we age and how to prevent age-related physical and mental decline can help us to live in the moment and enjoy our health at any age. In this audiobook, we explore the latest thinking in why we age, strategies to help maintain good health, as well as research into the limits of human longevity.

Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing, is the practice of spending time in the forest for better health, happiness and a sense of calm. A pillar of Japanese culture for decades, Shinrin-Yoku is a way to reconnect with nature, from walking mindfully in the woods, to a break in your local park, to walking barefoot on your lawn. Forest Medicine expert Dr Qing Li's research has proven that spending time around trees (even filling your home with house plants and vaporising essential tree oils) can reduce blood pressure, lower stress, boost energy, boost immune system and even help you to lose weight.

We aspire to live in a country where old men are celebrated as vital elders but not demeaned if they become ill and dependent. We aspire to maintain health as well as maintain dignity and fulfillment in frailty. Old Man Country helps listeners see and imagine these possibilities for themselves. The audiobook follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom, as he encounters 12 distinguished American men over 80 - including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world's most famous heart surgeon.

It's amazing how little can change in a decade. In 2009, a book transformed the way we see our frying pans, thermometers, and tuna sandwiches. Daily life was bathing us in countless toxins that accumulated in our tissues, were passed on to our children, and damaged our health. To expose the extent of this toxification, environmentalists Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie offered themselves to science and undertook a series of over a dozen experiments to briefly raise their personal levels of mercury, BPA, Teflon, and other pollutants.

Ageism is too often an accepted form of bias, even though the facts support the value of aging. Airline pilots forced to retire at the arbitrary age of 65 are usually at the top of their game. Forced retirement in most organizations remove highly skilled performers as well as role models and trainers for newer generations. Instead of revelling in who we are, we begin to try to look younger as soon as possible. People have become inured to "losing" abilities as they age instead of appreciating new abilities that only age can bestow.

From improving creativity to building confidence, self-care to self-esteem, forming better habits and feeling happier, Fix Your Life debunks the fads and explores the real science of self-help. Can you learn to make better decisions? Or break bad habits and form new ones? What should you eat to feel happier? How do you learn a skill faster? Does mindfulness really work?

Marc Freedman, hailed by the New York Times as “the voice of aging baby boomers [seeking] meaningful and sustaining work later in life”, makes an impassioned call to accept the decades opening up between midlife and anything approximating old age for what they really are: an entirely new stage of life, which he dubs the encore years. The whole 60- to 80-year-old period is simply new territory, he writes, and the people in this period constitute a whole new phenomenon in the 21st century.

In Disrupt Aging, CEO of AARP Jo Ann Jenkins focuses on three core areas - health, wealth, and self - to show us how to embrace opportunities and change the way we look at getting older. Here, she chronicles her own journey and the journeys of others who are making their marks as disruptors to show listeners how we can be active, healthy, and happy as we get older.

Embracing Age: How Catholic Nuns Became Models of Aging Well examines a community of individuals whose aging trajectories contrast mainstream American experiences. In mainstream American society, aging is presented as a “problem”, a state to be avoided as long as possible, a state that threatens one’s ability to maintain independence, autonomy, control over one’s surroundings. Aging “well” (or avoiding aging) has become a 21st-century American preoccupation.

In The AgeTech Revolution, Keren Etkin takes you on a journey to explore what the intersection of tech and aging looks like today. This book explores the changing face of aging in the 21st century, through the lens of the fast-paced digital transformation our society is going through. It goes into challenges of aging that are currently being tackled by technology—using the real-life stories of tech entrepreneurs and older adults. Etkin also provides a glimpse into the future, and what agetech could be like five, ten, fifteen years down the road.

You are not alone! Over 15.7 million people today are caring for a loved one with dementia. As caregivers, it’s easy for us to feel isolated. If you’re weary of the heartache and losses you both suffer, of the restless nights and chaotic days, then you know that our frustrations, helplessness, and fear can drive us to our knees. Dementia is cruel. But the caregiving journey that we are on also offers unexpected, uplifting gifts: profound personal insight; explosive spiritual growth; and discovery of our deepest self....

Hysterical seeks to explore the connections between hormones and health, particularly in the frequent mood changes and mental health issues women typically chalk up to the influence of hormones. Journalist Eleanor Morgan investigates the relationship between biochemistry, our bodies, and our mental health, including the context for this discussion: the historic culture of silence around women's bodies. As Morgan argues, we've gotten better at talking about mental health, but we still shy away from discussing periods, miscarriage, endometriosis, and menopause.

The Biohacking Blueprint: Use Science to Unlock Your True Potential is more than mere audio. It's a passport to a world where better health, enhanced performance, and increased lifespan are within your grasp. Every chapter invites you on a transformative adventure to decode your body's secrets and learn to mold them to your advantage. Whether it's hacking your sleep for ultimate rest and rejuvenation or bulletproofing your immune system for superior health, you'll find practical, science-backed strategies to amplify your wellbeing.

Do you see women your age portrayed as puttering gardeners and docile grannies? Do you feel bombarded by anti-aging products that insist you must "defy" getting older? Do you feel invisible in professional and social situations? And have you had enough, and are you ready to challenge the intertwining of sexism and ageism in our culture? Susan Douglas knows that you are not alone.

The world is changing its thought; in the past, those who believed in the perpetuation of youth were among the isolated few and were looked upon with suspicion by the many; in the present, the great majority desire to perpetuate their youth, and most believe it is possible.

Around the time a woman reaches 45, there is one enemy with the power to threaten her confidence, steal her beauty, make her feel invisible, and turn even the pleasures of life against her: time. Most women feel that an essential part of them dies when their youth is gone, but women can grow more beautiful, experience new pleasures, and accomplish their best work later in life.

"Snack Your Way to Longevity" is an enlightening guide for anyone who wants to wants to create a happier, more vibrant life without giving up their love of snacking. It delves into the captivating history of snacking, exploring its evolution from mere indulgence to a pivotal aspect of enhancing lifespan, health span, and overall happiness.

Everywhere we look, whether on TV or in a magazine, we're confronted with the same message. You need to be thinner, you need to be on a diet, you need to take so-called 'fat burning' supplements. But should this be accepted wisdom? What do we know about the fat that we would like to lose rather than embrace? No other organ - yes, fat is an organ - has so many prejudicial attitudes towards it with people having such limited knowledge about it.

This is a book about the good, the terrible and the avocado toast. A riveting exploration of the hidden forces behind what we eat, The Way We Eat Now explains how modern food, in all its complexity, has transformed our lives and our world. To re-establish eating as something that gives us both joy and health, we need to find out where we are right now, how we got here and what it is that we share.

A revolution in how we age is on its way. Yes, aging is inevitable: One year from now, we will all be a year older; that will never change. What can and will change is how we age - and how we can all take a much bolder approach to doing it with vigor and joy. The time has come to cast off prejudices and to blur the lines of what is possible and permissible at every stage of life. In other words: we need to learn to reimagine our approach to later life.