Researchers Finally Discovered the Oldest Age a Human Can Reach Naturally

Have you ever thought about what age you can possibly achieve when you do everything right, together with some luck? The maximum limit a human can reach is something heavily debated, but researchers from Tilburg and Erasmus universities have released their conclusions.

The Oldest Age a Human Can Reach Naturally

Scientists from Tilburg and Erasmus universities analyzed over 75,000 records of death for over 30 years. The conclusion of their studies has stated that the maximum human lifespan is approximately 115.7 years for women and 114.1 years for men.

This is all despite the advancements in medical technology and the increase in the standard of living. So in other words, if you eat healthy, exercise regularly, and take care of yourself mentally and emotionally, plus no hereditary disease has been passed on to you, and combine with all of our medications and technology, those years will still be your maximum age limit.

Though we provided some examples below of a person who surpassed this maximum lifespan, researchers said that it was more of an exception or outlier than normal.

Source: The Brighter Side of News

Understanding the Findings

The study used a well-known formula, which is the Extreme Value Theory. A statistical method where the researchers focused on the extreme deviations from the median.

This is what it means in other words, that while a lot more people are living longer and reaching old age, which means that our mean age increased, the age of the oldest individuals has remained constant over the course of the study, which is 30 years.

This translates to, despite people living longer, the maximum age they can live is still the same or hasn’t significantly changed.

Source: Medical Xpress

Notable Exceptions

This is the maximum age humans can physically reach, scientists say | New York Post

Jeanne Calment of France, as of the publication of this article, holds the record for the longest confirmed human lifespan at 122 years and 164 days. These cases where they surpassed the limit presented in this study are extremely rare and more of an outlier.

What we can infer with this knowledge is that while some cases like Jeanne Calment exist, the total overall statistical ceiling observed is not changed.

Source: Wikipedia

Implications for the Future

These findings are important to recognize for our community’s infrastructure in place. With more people living up to an older age, we have to prepare as a society to handle it, since the retirement age will still likely be around the same age.

Once we understand the natural limits of human lifespan, we have to inform policymakers and learn how to allocate resources carefully for an aging population, to maximize not only their lifespan but their healthspan and overall quality of life.

Source: Futurism

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Author's Final Thoughts

While a few people dream of living forever, as of right now, with all our technology and advancements, the evidence points that there is still a natural limit to human lifespan. This research should help us not to focus on how long we can live, but on how to maximize living our lives. Quality over quantity.

Read more: Africa Is Splitting Apart and Scientists Say a New Ocean Is Forming

References & Further Reading

Einmahl, J. J., Einmahl, J. H. J., & de Haan, L. (2019). Limits to human life span through extreme value theory. Journal of the American Statistical Association. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.2018.1537912

Dong, X., Milholland, B., & Vijg, J. (2016). Evidence for a limit to human lifespan. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19793

Rozing, M. P., Kirkwood, T. B. L., & Westendorp, R. G. J. (2017). Is there evidence for a limit to human lifespan? Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22788

Hughes, B. G., & Hekimi, S. (2017). Many possible maximum lifespan trajectories. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature22786