Life-expectancy growth is slowing

Take notice, all vampires looking for a romantic relationship – human life expectancy will increase much slower in this century than the last, according to gerontologist Dr. S. Jay Olshansky.

For the past 30 years, Dr. Olshansky has studied trends in aging in some of the world's biggest cities. And his recent work indicates the surge in increased life expectancy has finally slowed down:

• Before the mid-1800s, human life expectancy at birth was between 20–50 years. Improvements in survival were slow – think: pandemics, death by infection, etc.
• Advances in public health and medicine in the early 1900s kicked off a “longevity revolution,” characterized by large and rapid increases in life expectancy at birth (referred to as “radical life extension”).
• By 2000, US life expectancy at birth had reached 76.5 years. Since then, however, it’s plateaued – life expectancy at birth in 2020 was 78.8 years, a slight decline from the year before.

The conclusion: “Our analysis suggests that survival to age 100 years is unlikely to exceed 15% for females and 5% for males, altogether suggesting that, unless the processes of biological aging can be markedly slowed, radical human life extension is implausible in this century.”

🏥 Another takeaway: Healthspan > lifespan. Aging already comes with risks of diseases like dementia, Alzheimer's, and other serious health challenges. According to Olshansky, unless we find a way to slow down biological aging and extend a person’s “health span,” living to 120+ may be as un-enjoyable as being trapped inside on a beautiful day.