Answer: You are not alone.  Fortunately, there is hope.

Let’s first understand why we have less energy.

Sleep patterns change with age.  Older people spend less time in what is called deep sleep which is most important in restoring energy.

Also, falling asleep can become more difficult with age because of a decline in the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleeping and waking cycles.

Muscle mass declines with age.  By the age of 70, on average, we lose about 30 per cent of the muscle mass we had at age 20.  Less muscle mass means less strength and less strength means it takes more effort and energy to do what we typically have done in the past.

Illnesses common with age can interfere with sleep.  For example, people with congestive heart failure may awake at night because they are short of breath. Those with heartburn may have discomfort lying down.

Lifestyles affect energy levels. Those providing care to a loved one often describe themselves as exhausted.  And those in the sandwich generation, caring for aging parents and their own children plus working — often suffer from perpetual fatigue.

Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy in the 2007 Harvard Business Review article “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time,” identify four sources that influence our energy and describe some helpful rituals to prevent energy deficits.

Our Body. The body is a source of physical energy.  We know that lack of nutrition, exercise and sleep diminishes physical energy.

Rituals:  To improve sleep, go to bed earlier and reduce alcohol consumption.  Stress, which can effects our energy level, can be reduced by cardiovascular and strength training.  Signs of low energy are “restlessness, yawning, hunger and difficulty concentrating.”

Our Emotions. Emotions affect the quality of our energy.  We know that intense emotions cannot not be sustained for long periods of time without periods of recovery.  And with age, recovery typically takes a little longer.  If we ignore the need for down time, we may become “irritable, impatient, anxious and insecure.”  These emotions can be exhausting.

Rituals: Deep breathing exercises can diffuse negative emotions.

And if we have an intensely difficult situation, consider “how will I think about this in six months and what can I learn from it?”

Our Mind. What we do with our mind affects the focus of our energy.    For example, multi-tasking has been considered a value in the work place. In reality, it undermines productivity.  As much as 25 per cent of time is wasted in switching from one task to another.

Rituals:  When tasks require high performance, avoid e-mails, texting and the telephone.  Every night identify the most important challenge for the next day. Make that a priority the next morning.

Our spirit. The human spirit derives energy from having purpose and meaning in life.    When daily activities are consistent with our values, we derive a sense of meaning.  As a result, we typically have “more positive energy, focus better and demonstrate greater perseverance.”

Rituals:  Allocate time and energy to what is most important.  Even if you only have limited time, try this on a daily basis.  Another ritual is to recall when you have felt absorbed, effective and inspired.  Deconstruct that experience to understand what has energized you.  Was it your creativity?  Using one of your skills?  Being with someone special?

Here’s a tip on timing.  Try exercising at the beginning rather than the end of the day.  A daily walk will do it.  If you want company, check out some walking groups.

Or, just call a friend.

Robert M. Hutchins, a former Chancellor of the University of Chicago describes his feelings about exercise.  “When I feel like exercising, I just lie down until the feeling goes away.”

Try to avoid the Hutchins approach.   And best wishes on rediscovering your energy.

Copyright 2011 Helen Dennis. All rights reserved.

We don’t know much about this age group.  In fact, we know more about frail older adults living in nursing homes than we do about active 90-year olds.In an interview with the Star Ledger, Alan Richardson, Director of the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio notes that active 90-year olds are difficult to locate.

Enter the 90+ Study with Principal Investigator Dr. Claudia Kawas, Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology at UC Irvine.

In 2008, the National Institute on Aging gave UC Irvine $7 million to study the health of people 90 and older.  That grant helped extend what is considered a landmark study of 14,000 retirees in Laguna Woods Village, formerly Leisure World.

In the early 1980s when the study began, the average age of participants was 73.  Now, a 1,000 of these individuals are in their 90s and are participating in the 90+ Study.

Researchers visit them every six months to obtain information about diet, activities, medical history and medications.

Here are some of the findings:

• Those who drank a moderate amount of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who did not.
• More than 40 per cent of those aged 90 and older suffered from dementia; almost 80 per cent were disabled.  Both were more common among women than men.
• Links have been discovered between the level of exercise and longevity.

And speaking of nonagenarians, I and 15 others had the opportunity to have lunch with an exceptional nonagenarian – Louis Zamperini.

Having lunch with Mr. Z. was a live auction item at the recent Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation fund raiser.  The price was $10,000 – and no one bid on it – until after the event.  Then 16 individuals contributed a total of $8,000 to make the event happen with all proceeds going to the TCAF.

Zamperini is the subject of the New York Times bestseller “Unbroken” (Random House, 2010) by Laura Hillenbrand.  He was born and raised in Torrance, a USC grad, an Olympic runner and POW in World War II.

There is much we can learn from this 93-year old hero about being hardy, survival, resilience and the gift of forgiveness.

He noted that “the effects of World War II are not yet over.  War is never over.” And yet, there is no room for hate.  “When you hate someone, you hate yourself; it’s self-destructive.”

Forgiveness is key.

For many, life is not over at the age of 90.  Sophocles wrote the epic drama “Oedipus at Colonus”at 90.  At 91, Hulda Crooks climbed the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States.  George Burns at 92 played a younger character (81) in the movie “18 Again”.  At 93, Marc Chagall completed two paintings and conductor Leopold Stokowski at 94 signed a six-year recording contract.

Connie Springer, a free-lance photographer and author of “Positively Ninety: Interviews with Lively Nonagenarians”    ( Blurb, 2010) reminds us that less notables in their 90s also have much to teach us — about love, dignity, passion, faith, drive, determination, hope and more.

She chronicled the lives of 28 nonagenarians living with purpose and writes about “attesting to living one’s life with a joi de vivre in place of trepidation about growing older.”  She observed the personality of these 90-year olds and identified usual traits such as positive attitude and regular physical and mental exercise.

She also identified traits less recognized such as living simply, never turning down an invitation, relating to younger people, having a “nothing can stop me” outlook, not thinking about aging and being just plain lucky.

Springer admits that not everyone ages with positive outcomes and not all are in charge of their journey through life.  However, she offers the people in her book as a source of inspiration, acknowledging that behavior and outlook can be changed for the better.

I couldn’t agree more.

Copyright 2011 Helen Dennis. All rights reserved.

Answer: Your question leads to a larger one.  And that is, what exactly are the expectations from someone in retirement, particularly if that someone is older?  Is this a new life stage?Dr. William Thomas, an international authority on geriatric medicine gave a talk at TED, a small nonprofit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.”  The talk can be seen on U-tube at http://youtu.be/ijbgcX3vIWs.

According to Dr. Thomas, we live in a society where old people have some standing only if they can do what younger people do.  And if they can’t, they essentially “are disappeared.”  A case in point is residents of nursing homes.  “Their only crime is frailty.  They live a life sentence without parole,” notes Dr. Thomas.

Many think that age is the big problem.  According to Dr. Thomas, however, the real problem is our devotion to youth.  “Adulthood is sucking the joy out of daily existence.”

One reason is that a good adulthood is based on whether or not one can mirror the actions and activities of youth.  What we need, he continued, is a new life stage beyond youth, adolescence and adulthood.

“Elderhood” is what Dr. Thomas advocates.  It is a life stage that can be rich, real, deep and meaningful – if we are willing to outgrow adulthood.  He calls for a rebuilding of the lifecycle, to include a stage of life after adulthood that reflects the ongoing strengths, abilities and wisdom of our growing older population.

Others have tried to define a new stage of life.

Gerontologist Ken Dychtwald focused on “middlescence” as a time when individuals place greater value on time with friends and loved ones, enjoying personal growth and the excitement of encountering new people, places and cultures.  Given more free time they are less interested in purchasing things and more interested in new and stimulating experiences.

Life coach and psychologist Ron Pevny runs a Center for Conscious Eldering.  He agrees that our prescription for aging has been influenced by modern society’s view of the roles of older adults.

Those views are being challenged by a new understanding of the human potential throughout the life span.  Penvy notes that being an elder is a conscious choice that requires preparation on all levels – physical, psychological, and most importantly, spiritual.

Here are some of his principles:

• Certain abilities diminish with age; other can grow and peak.
• There’s a difference between being “old” and an elder.
• Growing into elderhood is the pinnacle of a life’s journey.
• Rather than a time of withdrawal, it can be a time of passionate engagement and service to the community.
• The engagement and service is most powerful and satisfying if it’s based on “being” rather than “doing.”

The term elder may be a problem for some.

Elderhostel, an organization founded in 1975 that provides lifelong learning opportunities to adults 50 and older, changed its name to Roads Scholar in 2009. According to their website, “Road” connotes a journey and real-word experience and “Scholar” reflects a deep appreciation for learning.  I suspect that one reason for the name change is that boomers generally don’t relate to “elder.”

A religious organization formed a group of older adults and named it a Community of Elders.  Many members still object to “elder.”

Alaska natives may have come close to defining the elderhood life stage. The identified four characteristics of eldership:  emotional well-being, community engagement, spirituality and physical health.

We continue to struggle with what to call and expect from this extended life period.  It’s more than traditional retirement.  For the moment, let’s try “elderhood.”  Perhaps at some time, it will be a well-accepted life stage that represents our highest aspirations.

Regardless of the term, we need to remember that one day our life will flash before our eyes.  We have to make sure it’s worth watching.

Copyright 2011 Helen Dennis. All rights reserved.

Answer. The operative work in your question is “productive.”

For many of us, the need to feel productive is in our DNA.  It’s part of our spiritual and psychological core and for good reason.  We have been heavily influenced by the Puritan work ethic that emphasized hard work, not to waste time and responsibility for the well-being of everyone.  This is part of our American history, culture and values.  It has worked well for us as a nation.

Frederick Taylor introduced the term “productivity” at the turn of the last century.   It was used as a measurement of labor, output and efficiency and as a major business determinant.

Productivity also has been defined as the power to produce, having generative power and being fruitful.  Working folks typically have responded to this meaning by fulfilling the demands and expectations of their employers.

Performance reviews, salary increases and promotions — or just keeping your job — have given us clues that we are meeting some productivity goal.  The specifics typically are set by management.

What does productivity mean in retirement which the external criteria disappears?  What does it mean in later life post- jobs and post-careers?

Our inner switch does not go off just because we don’t have a “real job” or because we are not earning a salary.

We may tell ourselves it is time to savor the pleasures of free time, yet many of us still experience that gnawing sense of guilt, a by-product of not producing.  Where then do we find the self-worth of being a “productive American?”

Several women who are part of Project Renewment®, a forum for career women to discuss issues related to their next chapter in life, shed some light on redefining what it means to be productive in retirement.

“Productivity now implies accomplishing anything that is important, making a difference and working to benefit others,” said one member.  It amounts to winding up with new kinds of products and outcomes.”

These would include painting, acting and photography, producing an opera or even cleaning a closet.  Although, few of the women believed that “closet productivity” had any long-term value.

The Project Renewment women identified a shift — from believing external circumstances must somehow define how productive or useful a person is – to defining that value for oneself.   They believe that nourishing one’s soul could be a guilt-free experience.

Many in the group reported that spending time with their elderly parents or grandchildren was productive.  Caring for a sick friend was productive as was time spent walking, doing yoga or Pilates.  Keeping healthy was a productive mission and activity.

Franz Kafka, the noted Czech-born writer, had a different take on being productive.   He wrote, “Productivity is being able to do things that you were never able to do before.”

The values we carry over from our work to retirement may be the same.  It’s just that they are expressed differently.  Productivity is still important. What changes is the role of others in dictating the definition.

This takes us to a larger and equally important subject of how we define the life stage between adulthood and old age. We are living in this new stage with no name or expectations.

Books, lectures and research are being devoted to this subject. And the reason?  Boomers are pushing to add a new part to the traditional stages of youth, adolescence and adulthood.  This new stage is not only for boomers but for those who precede them.

Perhaps there will be less of a disconnect when we compare how we live with the expectations of this new stage of life.

Copyright 2011 Helen Dennis. All rights reserved.

Answer.  If we only knew our exit date, we would be the most effective planners on the planet.

A great deal of research has been conducted to predict length of life.  Studies have addressed  the role of education, lifestyle, social connections, exercise, nutrition, family history, stress, personality, current health, types of work, miles one drives and more.

Some new light has been shed on the subject by Howard S. Friedman and Leslie S. Martin in their book The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study (Hudson Press, 2011).

These authors continued a study conducted 60 years ago by psychologist Lewis Terman who, in addition to developing the Stanford-Binet IQ test, studied the ongoing lives of 1,528 San Francisco 11-year olds for social predictors of intellectual leadership.  According to the New York Times, Friedman and Martin “pored through Terman’s records, dredged up death certificates, interviewed their survivors” and collaborated with many others.  The authors extended Terman’s 60-year old research for another 20 years, studying a single set of individuals from youth to death.

In this eight- decade project, Friedman and Martin found that conscientiousness was the best childhood predictor of longevity.  Based on an interview with New York Times journalist Katherine Bouton, the authors offered three explanations why the dominant role of conscientiousness was important.

1. Conscientious people are more likely to live a healthy lifestyle and do not smoke or drink excessively.  They wear seat belts, follow doctor’s orders and take medication as directed.
2. They are in healthier relationships, happier marriages, healthier work situations and better friendships.
3. Friedman and Martin also found people are not only predisposed to being conscientious, but also to be healthier.  They are less prone to diseases and not just those due to dangerous habits.  Although the physiological explanation is unknown, the authors believe it has something to do with the levels of serotonin in the brain.

The best social predictor of a long life was a strong social network. Widows outlive widowers –one speculated reason is that women tend to have stronger people connections.

And then there is the subject of stress.  Friedman noted in the interview that there is a misconception that we should lead stress-free lives.  He dispels the myth.

“A hard job that is also stressful can be associated with longevity,” he said.

“If people were working hard, succeeded, were responsible – no matter what field they were in – they were more likely to live longer.”

There is, however, bad stress.  An example is those who are stressed because they stayed in a job they didn’t like or didn’t perform well in the job.  These folks were more likely to die young.

The Longevity Project does not necessarily dismiss the results of studies that identify other aspects of a long life.

For example, a recent study from Boston University identified 150 unique genetic markers by analyzing the DNA of the world’s oldest people.  Taken together these markers are linked to extreme longevity.

The lifestyles of centenarians in the U.S. and those living in what is known as the Blue Zones –places with the highest concentration of people 100 and older —  who are living the longest healthiest lives have added to our knowledge.

Check out some life expectancy calculators such as http://apps.bluezones.com/vitality/ and http://www.livingto100.com/.

My life expectancy was 93 years for the first and 104 years for the second.  Quite a spread.  And 104 years seems a bit long.

How many years should you plan to live?  Consider more than the ages of your parents.   Many financial planners assume their clients will live to at least 93 years.

Thank you for your good questions and best wishes for a long, healthy life with the financial security you are creating.

Copyright 2011 Helen Dennis. All rights reserved.