- Dr. Shai Efrati, 55, says he's healthier than he was 20 years ago.
- His biggest tip to patients who want to live longer is to not retire.
- Other experts in aging agree that retiring can be detrimental to longevity.
A longevity doctor shared his biggest tip for extending your life — don't retire.
Dr. Shai Efrati, a physician who's also a professor in medicine and neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, has been documenting his health for the past 20 years, including MRI scanning his brain and testing his cognition and physical performance. He told Business Insider his health markers are better now than they were when he was in his 30s.
As the founder of a hyperbaric oxygen therapy clinic in Florida, Efrati partially attributes his health to the treatment, which involves breathing in pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been linked to reversing some of the biomarkers of aging but isn't approved for this use by the Food and Drug Administration.
But in his work with patients who want to age healthily, Efrati's biggest tip is to keep working for as long as possible.
Work can give us a sense of purpose
"The most important thing is to have a future," Efrati said. He said being needed by others can be one way to find purpose.
"Of course, if you are working in construction or something physically challenging, then stop. But if not, then don't ever retire," he said. "If you are quitting one type of work, find another one. Fight for a purpose, be needable for something."
Efrati gave the example of a patient in their 90s who was still working in real estate and thinking about how to build on Mars. Efrati said he believed the man's attitude and sense of purpose made him a better candidate for longevity-boosting medical care than a 40-year-old who had retired with the sole intention of relaxing.
A 2019 study found that of the 6,985 participants ages 51 to 61, those who had a stronger purpose in life were less likely to die in the 16- to 18-year follow-up period. The authors said it was possible that a sense of purpose contributes to our well-being, which has been associated with lower levels of inflammation.
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Staying occupied is linked to living longer
Karen Glaser, a professor of gerontology at Kings College London who's a lead researcher in the WHERL study into work, health, and life expectancy, previously told BI that staying in a job that isn't too stressful or physically demanding could protect our cognitive abilities.
Retiring, however, can deprive us of social connections, which are linked to longevity, Glaser said. A 2023 study published in BMC Medicine found that people ages 38 to 73 who were socially isolated had a 77% higher risk of dying of any cause.
Ben Meyers and Fabrizio Villatoro, researchers at LongeviQuest, an organization that validates the ages of the world's oldest people, previously told BI that working hard for as long as possible was a common trait among the more than 1,000 supercentenarians they had met.
And Heidi Tissenbaum, a professor in biology at the University of Massachusetts' medical school who researches healthy lifespans, said that keeping both the body and brain busy is essential for living a long, healthy life.
The same benefits can be gotten from volunteering or taking up hobbies, Glaser said — staying occupied is the key, rather than employment itself.