The racist blowhard Archie Bunker from the sitcom “All in the Family” was created by Norman Lear, who turned 101 in July. Norman Lear also created other iconic 1970s television characters.
At an early celebration for Lear on Thursday at the Life Itself conference, a health and wellness gathering organized in partnership with CNN, he shared his tips for living to a ripe old age: lox and bagels, family love, laughing, and a life of exciting work.
Lear stated, “I prefer having a project on my mind when I wake up that I can work on… to completion.
Over the past century, Lear has accomplished everything. His screenplay for “Divorce American Style” was nominated for an Academy Award for best screenplay. He served as executive producer on the cult classics “The Princess Bride” and “Fried Green Tomatoes.”. In the 1970s and 1980s, his sitcom spinoffs of “All in the Family” dominated television, delving into issues like racism, feminism, and social inequality that no one else had dared to tackle. Even People for the American Way, a liberal political organization, was founded as a result of his political activism.
Even at the age of 90, when most people his age would consider themselves fortunate to be rocking on their front porch, Lear has never stopped working. “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” which won Primetime Emmys in 2019 and 2020, featured a 95-year-old Lear as co-producer and host for three of the episodes. Using contemporary actors like Jamie Fox, Woody Harrelson, and Viola Davis, the series recreated vintage episodes of “The Jeffersons,” “All in the Family,” and “Good Times.”.
Some of Lear’s popular sitcoms from the 1970s, such as “One Day at a Time,” have recently been revived by him and his business partner Brent Miller.
They are also collaborating on a number of movies and other endeavors.
Lear asserts that his approach to stress is one of the factors contributing to the longevity of his career. During his 1970s comedic era, Lear had eight popular television shows: “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Sanford and Son,” “Good Times,” “The Jeffersons,” “One Day at a Time,” “Archie Bunker’s Place,” and “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.”.
Nonetheless, Lear referred to that period of his life as one of “joyful stress” in his 2014 book “Even This I Get to Experience.”. “.
Lear said to Variety last year: “Even doing your best work and enjoying the results of that, there is a reasonable amount to a great deal of stress. And if one can learn to accept that with joy, one can feel stressed and realize that they are also enjoying themselves. And so I’ve encountered a lot of that over the course of my career. “.
The science of stress.
Research suggests that stress can be advantageous, particularly if you have Lear’s mindset. Resilience, like rock, paper, scissors… covers stress, and resilience can be attained by accepting stress as a normal, beneficial, and even necessary part of life.
Is this, however, a recommendation for everyone to work past the typical retirement age like Lear did?
People who work longer are healthier, according to research, which supports this claim. So it’s quite tempting to take a look at that association and conclude that working longer will extend your life. But it’s significantly more complicated,’ said Beth Truesdale, a sociologist and research fellow at the W. E. Institute for Employment Research Upjohn.
“If you’re fortunate enough to work a job where you have control over your working environment and can make decisions that allow you to care for your family, then you’re fortunate, and in that case, job stress can be difficult but rewarding,” she continued. But because they have so little control over their jobs, many people, especially those without a college degree, find them to be extremely stressful. “.
The Actuality of Retirement.
Lear is actually one of a “tiny, tiny minority” of fortunate people who have found jobs that will support them financially and physically as they age, according to Truesdale, coeditor of the soon-to-be-published book “Overtime: America’s Aging Workforce and the Future of “Working Longer.”. ‘ “.
Truesdale said, “We hear these wonderful stories about people who could retire if they wanted to, but instead choose to keep working because that’s what they want to do. “But we don’t hear the stories that counterbalance that, like the ones of people who had to retire at 57 because their life’s work was so physically taxing that their backs and knees gave out. “.
After that, it will be years before they can apply for Medicare or draw Social Security benefits, she continues. “And that means that a lot of people in the middle and lower classes will be living in poverty.
“.
According to Truesdale, retirement earlier than desired (or financially feasible) is not always the result of poor health. Being a “sandwich generation” member and taking care of an elderly family member may prevent middle-aged people, especially women, from finding work. Age discrimination, she continued, is a terrible reality that affects many older workers.
“And statistics show that nine out of ten people who lose their jobs in their 50s and early 60s never find another job that pays as well as the one they lost,” she added.
Lear’s wit and humor are razor-sharp, and despite his advanced age, he still enjoys success as a writer.
However, a lot of people are less fortunate, as evidenced by the rise in the number of elderly people receiving Alzheimer’s and dementia diagnoses. Therefore, according to Harvard Medical School neurologist Rudy Tanzi, director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, making early, brain-healthy decisions such as getting enough sleep, reducing stress, exercising, and eating well are crucial in deciding between working and retiring.
With mindful meditation, managing your expectations regarding social media, and other techniques, you can handle stress and get a good night’s sleep, according to Tanzi. Since loneliness, not being alone, is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, you should strive to maintain a positive social life. “.
“Exercise induces neurogenesis and removes amyloid and stops brain inflammation,” Tanzi added, “while learning new things to make new brain synapses is like money in the bank. “.
The severity of cognitive decline that occurs with aging is correlated with the loss of brain synapses, Tanzi explained, so “the more synapses you make every day, the more you can lose.”. In light of this, when considering retirement, consider more than just your financial reserve’s durability. Consider how much time you will be able to use up your synaptic reserves.
“.
In addition to working, Truesdale noted that there are other activities you can engage in to maintain your physical and mental well-being, such as spending time with loved ones, engaging in hobbies, and volunteering in worthwhile causes, all of which have been linked to healthy aging in studies.
People engage in a variety of rewarding activities that they might not have had time for while working for a living, she said, which keeps them active and gives them a strong sense of purpose and fulfillment. “Stay active as you age, definitely. However, it is illogical to believe that working is the only way to accomplish that. “.
