This past Sunday, former American president Jimmy Carter turned 99, becoming the nation’s longest-living president. Being a head of state is no easy feat, and it can take a physical, emotional, and mental toll. Carter is a cancer survivor. He also suffered a series of falls in recent years, resulting in him entering hospice care in February 2023.
That said, The Carter Center revealed in a statement that Carter had decided to spend “his remaining time at home with his family” On Sunday the 1st October 2023, the former president is celebrating his 99th birthday. So how has he accomplished this incredible longevity feat?
Jimmy Carter’s Longevity Guide to 99
1. Exercise
According to Harvard researchers, leading an active lifestyle has been found to add years to your life, by reducing the risk of early death by 21-31%.
Carter and his wife, Rosalynn are avid lovers of exercise. Both are known to be big fans of bike riding. This has been found to improve balance, strength, and coordination. It also helps prevent falls and fractures.
In fact, Carter’s grandson revealed to TIME that his grandfather would also ask to ride a bike every time he visited a new city. Jason Carter, a lawyer and former Georgia state senator, also revealed that his grandfather would make time to jog and play tennis every day.
2. Companionship
While exercise is a great longevity boost, Jason Carter told TIME that his grandfather would have a different answer to why he’s celebrated so many birthdays.
Jason thinks that Carter would credit his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, as the secret behind his longevity.
Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. 7 July 2018 ·
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were married at the Plains United Methodist Church on July 7th, 1946. Happy 72nd wedding anniversary President and Mrs. Carter.
Image credit: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter on their wedding day.
While Rosalynn is Carter’s jogging partner, the benefits of their companionship go beyond that. Research has found that forming strong social connections is a key part of longevity. This is especially true if that connection includes the longest-married couple in presidential history and features children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), strong social connections can increase life expectancy, well-being, and health.
3. Sense of purpose
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that speaks to having a sense of purpose. It’s one of the longevity secrets associated with the people of Okinawa – residents of a Japanese island that experience fewer cases of cancer, heart disease, and dementia, and whose women there live longer than any women on the planet.
It’s clear, outside of running the country, that Carter’s ikigai was about helping the community. Both he and his wife have helped build, renovate, and repair over 2,000 homes across the globe through their volunteer work with Habit For Humanity.
Having a sense of purpose or raison d’être encourages you to take better care of yourself. Additionally, it has been found to reduce mortality, the risk of heart disease, and age-related cognitive decline.
4. Have faith
“Our religious beliefs are important to us,” Carter once wrote in the foreword of the book, If I Had a Hammer: Stories of Building Homes and Hope with Habitat for Humanity.
This belief is so strong that from 1981 to 2020, Carter regularly taught Sunday school where he and his wife attended services.
Similar to ikigai, religion can provide a sense of purpose and belonging, both of which are great life enhancers.
Want to know more?
Jimmy Carter isn’t the only nonagenarian celebrating a birthday. Did you know that Clint Eastwood recently turned 93? So what keeps Clint Eastwood healthy?
