When we look at the names of the oldest people in history, a French woman’s name comes up, Jeanne Clament, who lived for 122 years. She was born in 1875 when the life expectancy for a person was about 43 years only.
A question that people have been asking for centuries is how long can humans actually live? While the average life expectancy (how many years a person is expected to live) is relatively easy to calculate, the maximum lifespan (how long a human can possibly live) is very difficult to estimate. Certain previous studies have claimed this age to be closer to 140 years, but a recent study states that the maximum lifespan of human life is closer to 150 years.
Calculating Lifespan
The oldest and still the most widely used method for calculating life expectancy and lifespan is the Gompertz equation. The first assessment in this regard was made in the 19th century that human mortality from a disease increases rapidly over time. Certainly, your chances of succumbing to cancer, heart diseases, and other infections almost doubles every eight to nine years.
There are several ways in which the formula can be altered to understand how various factors affect the lifespan of a person. The Gompertz calculation is also used to calculate health insurance premiums, which is why insurance companies are curious to know if you smoke, your marital status, and other such personal details to estimate how long you may live.
One way to find out how long we will live is to know that as we age, how our organs decline in terms of functioning and how much. We relate the decline in the functionality of our organs according to our age. For example, the amount of oxygen we use while exercising and performing other activities tends to decline as we age. Most calculations indicate that on average a person’s organs will function till the age of 120 years. However, these studies also highlight the variations among people as they age. Some people’s kidney functionality declines rapidly as they age, while others do not face this.
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But, surprisingly, researchers from Singapore, Russia, and the USA, using a different approach have estimated the maximum lifespan of a human being. Using a computer model, they have estimated that the maximum human lifespan can be about 150 years.
Living For 150 Years!
Naturally, there is a correlation between how quickly and completely you recover from a disease and your possibility of death. This is a measure of maintaining your normal body balance. In fact, with age, the ability to maintain this balance decreases. Generally, a younger person is likely to recover faster from disease as compared to an older adult.
But, such estimates believe that the present older population will not be able to benefit from the advancement in the medical field. In other words, they won’t be able to avail any new and advanced treatments for common illnesses. Although there has been some progress on this aspect, some benefit from it, while others don’t.
For example, a child born today may be able to rely to increase his/her life expectancy on the medical advancements of around 85 years. But, on the other hand, for a person who is currently 85 years old, his/her life expectancy depends upon the current, limited medical techniques only.
According to a recent study, you need only three important things for a maximum lifespan. First is a good gene, which gives good hopes of living beyond 100 years. Second is an excellent diet and an exercise plan, which can add up to 15 years to your life. Finally, the third one is progress in the field of drugs and other medical treatments, to prolong one’s lifespan, keeping them healthy.
At present, it is extremely difficult to increase the healthy lifespan of normal humans by 15-20% because there is still more to study about the biology of aging. But given the current pace of progress, we can confidently expect an increase in life expectancy in the near future.
