Can Money Buy You a Longer Life?

An anonymous reader shared this report from the Wall Street Journal:

The rich get richer — and older. People with high salaries and net worth tend to live longer lives, research shows. Once Americans make it to their late 50s, the wealthiest 10% live to a median age of around 86 years, roughly 14 years longer than the least wealthy 10%, according to a study published earlier this year in JAMA Internal Medicine. People with more money can afford healthier food, more healthcare and homes in safer, less-polluted neighborhoods, says Kathryn Himmelstein, a co-author of the study and a medical director at the Boston Public Health Commission.

Though you can't add more months or years to your online shopping cart yet, health and aging researchers say there are ways to spend money to improve your chances of living longer. They suggest favoring purchases that help you track your health, stay active and reduce stress. 'We know the things that help us age better, and everyone's always disappointed when you tell them,' says Andrew Scott, director of economics at the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford, England. 'Eat less and eat better, sleep more, exercise more and spend time with friends....' But certain gadgets and luxuries can be worth the cost, some researchers say. Devices such as the Apple Watch and Oura Ring can instill healthy habits and catch worrying patterns that might emerge between annual checkups, says Joe Coughlin, the director of the MIT AgeLab... Coughlin says he once went to the emergency room because his Apple Watch detected a spike in his heart rate that he hadn't noticed himself.

'For the superwealthy, suddenly living longer and living better has become the new prestige,' Coughlin says. Higher incomes correlate with longer lives, but there are diminishing returns. Each successive jump in pay is linked to smaller boosts in longevity, a 2016 study from the research group Opportunity Insights found... A key to the relationship between income and longevity is that money doesn't just buy stuff that helps you live longer. It also buys time and reduces stress. 'If you've got a nice place to live and you don't have to worry about food on the table, you have the mental head space and resources to prioritize your health,' says Steven Woolf, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine... Moreover, many lower-income jobs are more physically taxing and more prone to workplace accidents and exposure to harmful substances.

The article also includes examples of spending that promotes health, including things like home gym equipment and even swing-dancing lessons.
But it also adds that 'plenty of things that are good for you don't come with a bill, such as going on a walk or minimizing screen time before bedtime.'

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