In The Long Run, We're All Dead

"When you don't have any money, the problem is food. When you have money, it's sex. When you have both, it's health. If everything is simply jake, then you're frightened of death." -- attributed to J.P. Donleavy

Midlife may be the time that you have "enough" money, food, sex, and health. And yet it's also the point in life at which, according to popular mythology, people become so concerned with their demise -- decades away though it may be -- that they launch off on dramatic new directions.

But is death really that fearsome? How concerned should someone in the middle of their life be about dying in the near term? Here's a roundup of tidbits about death that can help put it in perspective.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

According to the latest Centers for Disease Control statistics, if you're 40 years old then you can expect to live 37.6 more years (if you're male) to 41.9 more years (if you're female).

What's at first counterintuitive is the data for 50 and 60 year olds: their expected age at death is greater than for 40 year olds. A 50 year old man can look forward to another 28.8 years (to 78.8 years) and a 50 year old woman to another 32.7 (to 82.7). At 60, men still have 20.8 years left (to 80.8 years) and women 24.0 (to 84.0).

What's happening is that simply by surviving to 50 or 60, you've shown that you're healthier than some who died an early death. As a result, your expected lifespan goes up.

All those numbers are based on current mortality data, which can't account for advancements in medical capabilities or healthier lifestyles among the middle-aged Boomers and Gen Xers.

Source: table 7, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 55, No. 19, August 21, 2007.

"Death Calculator?" Let's Call It A Life Calculator

We found two online calculators that give you estimates about how long you have to live. Northwestern Mutual's "The Longevity Game" asks the usual questions (but includes a cool, instantaneous BMI calculator) and keeps running track of your expected age at death. Watch those extra pounds around your middle take years off your life!

The site "Living to 100" (affiliated with the book of the same title) takes a little longer because it delves deeper into areas such as stress and sleep patterns (and flossing!), but it still takes less than five minutes to complete. The calculation isn't dynamic, like Northwestern Mutual's, but after it's complete you can receive recommended actions you can take based on your answers, along with the years each change could make to your life expectancy. For instance, exercising more could add five years to mine. But the site goes further and makes several pages of recommendations -- such as drinking less coffee -- and provides the reasons why.

All Play and No Work ...

The average age at retirement has been dropping for years, and is currently about 62 ... so if you've made it to 50 you can look forward to twenty years of (we hope) leisure. (source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, here)

Like The Odds?

Your chance of dying this year, if you're 45-54: 0.4% (for 55-64 it's 0.9%). (Source: NVSR above)

But On Average, We're All Dead

If you're an average American, you'll die in your late seventies from heart disease. See our earlier article "What Will Kill You?"

One More Thing You Can't Blame Your Parents For

% influence genetics has on your life span: 30.

The other 70% is due to lifestyle factors ... and you know who's in control of those (source: Dr. Moira Fordyce, gerontologist at Stanford University School of Medicine, as quoted in the Los Angeles Times, October 15, 2007, and this research)

Something to Thank Your Spouse For

Are you married? It greatly reduces your odds of dying in a given year. For 45-54 year olds, married men are only 1/3 as likely to die as never married, widowed, or divorced men. The rate for women varies more, ranging from about 1/2 to 1/3 the chance. (source: Table 25, NVSR)

College: More Than Just Drinking Games

If went to college and are 45-54 years old, your chances of dying are less than half that of someone whose education ended with high school graduation. (source: NVSR, Table 26)

Is That Thunder? Don't Worry About It ... If You're A Woman

You probably don't have to worry about death by lightning strike ... if you're a woman. 85% of deaths from lightning strike are men. (source: CDC)

If They'd Been In Church, They Wouldn't Have Been Struck By Lightning

Regular attendance at worship services is correlated with longer life, adding about seven years on average. This seems to be because, compared to the non-religions, people who regularly attend services have a healthier lifestyle, a better social support network, and possibly a lower level of stress and a higher sense of well being. All are linked to longer life.

Spiritual Oxygen Deprivation?

When you die, will you feel as though you are being drawn up through a tunnel of light? Perhaps, but anesthesiologist G. M. Woerlee says the reasons are physiological. In this article and his book "Mortal Minds" he explains how oxygen starvation explains the sensations reported by people who recover from near death experiences.

On the other hand, summarizing the research of investigators into the near death experience, writer Lee Graves says "The power of the experience often is life-altering. Fear of death vanishes. Love of life blossoms. Spirituality strengthens. Compassion and connectedness become central principles." So perhaps oxygen starvation isn't such a bad thing.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to ... Ecologically Acceptable Powder?

You may find yourself in an ecological quandary as you ponder what you want done with your body after your death. Burial involves putting noxious chemicals, hardwoods, and concrete into the ground. Cremation uses a significant amount of power and / or natural gas, and creates air pollution (cremations are said to be the third largest source of atmospheric mercury pollution in the UK -- the mercury coming from the deceased's tooth fillings). A new possibility: freeze drying your body and then shaking it until it turns to powder.

For More ...

If you want to read an interesting and oddly amusing book about the many ways people die, find a copy of Michael Largo's Final Exits. You'll learn why people no longer die from ague, what the safest row in an airliner is, and what an Oscar win does for life expectancy.