Is living longer better?

The Internet is crowded with promises of a longer life. This elixir, that pill, even a "secret" that can be had with a click of the mouse ... and all for a price.

Most of us can see through these grandiose claims. But we are still tantalized by the more scientifically-based news that is coming at us every day. The prediction is that the number of people who will live to see 100 in their rear-view mirror will increase from 70,000 today to as many as 4 million in the next 50 years.

A concern with longevity was once thought to be the province solely of the now-aging, but always self-absorbed, "Me Generation."

But the promise of an increased life span seems to have question marks attached to it for some. I asked a couple of my fellow Boomers what they thought about the promise of a longer life.

Leslie, who just celebrated her 50th birthday, had this comment: "Living long isn't worth it without loving and being loved. Who wants to be 100 and alone and unloved? Not me. I'm not sure I even want to be 100; it might require making a new set of friends, among other things!"

Many excellent studies have been done that all point to the same conclusion: People who have close connections with others live longer than those who are isolated.

A study that was done in Alameda County on more than 7,000 people is conclusive. Those who were classified as "lonely and isolated" had mortality rates three times higher than those who had strong interpersonal connections.

Another friend of mine, Richard -- also age appropriate to this discussion, but perhaps not so romantic -- had a somewhat different take on the "Leslie Issue":

"She's got a point," he admits. "Love is a good thing, but it seems more like what younger people need to be concerned about. I am looking forward to the next 50 years, but I want it to read more like an adventure novel than a love story. I plan on getting my kids off to college, then biking across Italy, while learning about all kinds of strange and odd things."

Richard also has science on his side.

When our brains confront new challenges or new environments, we produce a substance called "neurotrophins" which then produce more dendrites in our brain. That's a good thing. A dendrite-rich brain has lots of active nerve cells communicating with each other.

Richard would appreciate the work of Marian Diamond, a University of California at Berkeley researcher who has studied the impact of new experiences on rats. Her rats, which were given new challenges, grew dramatically thicker brain cortexes when compared to less-challenged rats.

Even more interesting is her finding that the enriched rats might have had beefier brains but they weren't necessarily living longer than her less stimulated rats. However, when she started stroking and loving her rats, they not only continued to flourish mentally, but they increased their life span an equivalent of 30 human years.

So it seems that both Leslie and Richard may have a point. Richard looks like he is headed for a future with a dendrite-dense brain, but he may not get a chance to enjoy it for an enhanced period of time if he insists on going it alone.

Maybe I should introduce Richard to Leslie. Possibly for a romantic bicycle trip a deux through the vineyards of Tuscany?

Love. Stimulating adventures. Yes, life could be worth living ... for a long time.

Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh, a Cape Girardeau native, is a clinical psychologist who lives and works in Santa Barbara, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.