At 91, Judi Dench has had a long and versatile career. She’s known for playing M in James Bond, she acted in Shakespeare in Love, and has been on stage at the theatre countless times over the years.
She’s critically acclaimed for the work she’s done too — she has an Oscar, a Tony, two Golden Globes, six BAFTAs and seven Olivier Awards. But she’s absolutely not done yet.
Her memoirist and friend, Brendan O’Hea shares quotes in The Times, of where Judi explains that there are lots of parts of ageing that she doesn’t enjoy. “You have to contend with people asking, ‘When are you going to retire?’ or, ‘Isn’t it about time you put your feet up?’ No, it bloody well isn’t,” she says.
Instead, she wants to keep working for a while yet. “I want to be like Newton Blick, who died in his dressing room after a performance,” she says of the Hollywood actor made famous in the 1950s. “I want to be one of those women who throw themselves out of planes when they’re 100.”
And while it might not sound like the best way to live into old age, there is some science to suggest she’s following a longevity hack.
The Purpose-Led Longevity Hack
There is a concept originating in Japan known as ‘ikigai.’ This refers to your sense of purpose, or what gets you out of bed in the morning. The Japanese island of Okinawa is thought to be a ‘blue zone,’ meaning they have a particularly high number of centenarians (people living to 100). And locals put this concept of having an ‘ikigai’ as one of the reasons they live so long.
After retiring, many locals will volunteer in their local area, look after grandchildren — or even starting a new hobby like gardening. And research has confirmed that having a purpose like this can add years to your lifespan.
A 2008 study across over 43,000 Japanese adults looked into whether having this sense of purpose could actually extend your life in old age. The results found that over a seven year period, participants who didn’t have a sense of purpose were significantly more likely to die of heart problems and other external causes.
And another study across US adults gave the same result — older adults were much more likely to live longer with some kind of purpose.
That’s not to say, you should work yourself into the grave, rather find something that gets you out of bed each morning — and it could help you live a long and happy life, whether it’s selling jams at the local farmer market or throwing yourself out of planes, like Judi suggests.
