“100 years ago, most people couldn’t imagine a world with antibiotics or immunizations. Let alone MRI-guided robotic surgery performed on a patient in Cleveland, Tennessee, by a surgeon in Cleveland, Ohio,” Michael Roizen, the Chief Wellness Officer Emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic, and his co-authors Peter Linneman and Albert Ratner write in The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow.
“But these breakthroughs are all very real,” Michael, Peter, and Albert note, “and are becoming commonplace in modern medicine.”
If anything, the speed of innovation in medicine is increasing.
“Sometime in the not-too-distant future,” the authors write, “our medical landscape will look like this:
- You will 3D-print a new organ to replace a diseased one.
- A robot will remove plaque from your arteries, and you will not need stent surgery.
- If you have the gene that shows you’re predisposed to colon cancer, a snip here, a snip there, and—boom—you will cut that gene out of your DNA. And colon cancer out of your future.
“Today,” they state, “while you might not be able to fathom the robotic surgery, gene editing, and other incredible medical advances that await us, they are coming. In fact, in some cases, they’re already here.”
The impact of these advances is poised to change society in profound ways. Michael, Peter, and Albert call it “The Great Age Reboot.”
“Believe it or not,” they write, “within the next 10 years, the world will rocket into new norms of aging, new population increases, new life spans, and new ways of living.
“The changes will be radical, and they will come fast. . .
“We believe that longevity is not only the next disruptor, but the greatest disruptor ever. It has the potential to cause changes even more sweeping and powerful than the invention of the chip (micro, not potato!) 60 years ago.”
2: Everything we believe about lifespan is about to change. And radically so.
“In developed countries today,” the authors observe, “the average life expectancy at birth is about 81; a few people live until about 110, and, in extreme cases, 120-plus.
“But our projections, based on scientific advances in the major areas of aging research, show that by 2030 you will be able to slow your rate of aging—likely to an average life expectancy for those now over 40 to at least 108.
“And down the line, it will not be uncommon for people to regularly live to 115 and even 130.
These predictions may feel far-fetched.
“But technology and science don’t always work linearly,” they note. “They can work exponentially. That is, one advance doesn’t lead to two, then three. One step leads to two, then four, then eight, and so on.
“It’s like taking leaps, rather than steps—exponential leaps. Where 30 literal steps may get you 100 or so feet (30 yards or meters), 30 exponential steps would take you 26 times around the world. . .
“We are on the verge,” they say, “of exponential changes in both medical advancements and increased life spans. Science is changing the ways we are able to manipulate our cells and our DNA.”
The really good news? This isn’t just about living longer; healthspan will increase, too.
“After all, who wants to live longer if it just means living older?” the authors ask.
Their answer: Nobody.
“But hear us out,” they write. “This aging boom will actually lead to more ‘prime-living’ years, not ‘elderly,’ downtrodden ones. Think of it this way: You won’t just be living longer. Instead, you’ll be extending the period between ages 30 and 60 to between 30 and 90. . .
“Here’s another way to think about it,” Michael, Peter, and Albert note. “Your 20s will last maybe 15 or 20 years. Same goes for your 30s and 40s. In fact, there’s a very high chance that sometime between 2025 and 2035, the typical 95-year-old will look and function more like the typical 50-year-old of today.”
3: There is, however, an “X factor” in the equation.
You.
“Ultimately, though, living longer—and being both healthier and wealthier while you do so—has a lot to do with you,” Michael, Peter, and Albert explain.
The recommendation: Make good choices now.
Why? Because “the healthier you are when these revolutionary changes arrive, the more they can help you. Therefore, we believe that in order to benefit fully, you have to prepare yourself for the coming reboot.”
Big changes are happening. And you do not want to get left behind.
“We are in the midst of an extraordinary biological and societal revolution that is affecting human life span even as we write,” the authors observe.
Is it hard to imagine a youthful 100-year-old? Perhaps.
“But you know what?” they say. “In the 1930s, few could picture a youthful 65. Someone in the early 1900s never could have imagined living until 80.
It comes down to this, the authors believe: “Will you decide to change with the times? Will you prepare to stay younger longer by extending the good years? And will you help society change? As we stand on the brink of the Great Age Reboot, those decisions are yours to make.”
More tomorrow!
_______________________
Reflection: If I truly believed I might live a healthy, productive life well beyond 100, what would I start doing differently today?
Action: Identify one decision this week that improves both my current health and my future healthspan—something that benefits me now and increases the likelihood that I can take advantage of future medical breakthroughs.