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Dear healthwellness82@gmail.com, How good are you at manufacturing your own luck? Actually, it’s all in the way you walk, use your hands and move your body, says retired special agent Joe Navarro, author of Louder Than Words: Take Your Career from Average to Exceptional with the Hidden Power of Nonverbal Intelligence. He shares five secrets for crafting nonverbal messages that will have the world eating out of your hand. And while we’re on the subject of luck, some of us were lucky enough to be born with genes that will keep us healthy and happy into our 90s -- and the rest of us have to work harder to make it happen. Daniel James Berlau, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of neurology at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine and investigator of the 90-Plus Study, shares some surprising longevity secrets, including how a few of your favorite childhood pastimes can actually protect you from one particularly dreaded disease. All the best,  Jessica Kent Editor BottomLineSecrets.com Get Your Way Without Saying Anything Joe Navarro We’re being watched. Our body language, our actions and our facial expressions send signals that others receive and evaluate. I learned as an FBI agent to quickly and assuredly assess the meaning of these signals so that appropriate action -- at times, lifesaving action -- could be taken. Psychologists estimate that between 60% and 80% of all communication is nonverbal -- yet most people put no thought into the messages their bodies are sending. Here, five vital nonverbal messages and how to send them... "I’m in charge here" You don’t necessarily have to be smarter or more experienced than the rest of a group to be accepted as its leader. Some leaders send nonverbal signals that encourage others to follow... Claim territory. When standing, hold your arms slightly away from your sides, feet slightly apart. When you sit at a shared space, such as a conference table, spread your materials out slightly farther than the width of your shoulders, claiming the space as your own. Organized, polite people tend to arrange their papers in a neat pile, then fold their hands on top. Unfortunately, this sends the message to others that you can be dominated. Many young men instinctively claim territory in these ways, but most women and older men must remind themselves to do so. To let people know that you are standing your ground and that your decision is final, stand behind a table or desk, lean forward slightly, spread your arms a little away from your body, spread your fingers apart and plant your fingertips firmly on the surface. This stance sends an unmistakable message of authority and should be used by men and women only as a last resort. Hold your fingers wide when you make hand gestures. Spreading your fingers sends a strong signal of confidence, control and domination. Put on a performance of "cool and collected" even when you don’t feel it. People gravitate toward those who remain calm in difficult situations... and avoid those who seem overemotional and prone to panic. At the start of a potentially difficult day, silently say to yourself, I might face problems today, but even if there is yelling and screaming, I am going to transcend it. When difficult moments arrive, silently tell yourself, I have a responsibility to be calm to help maintain the calm. Sending yourself these messages increases the odds that you will send the nonverbal message, I’m cool, collected and worth following. "I’m confident. Our signals help determine whether others trust our words... Steeple your outspread fingers. Steepling -- touching the fingertips together with hands pointed up and fingers spread wide -- is an extremely powerful nonverbal signal of confidence. Jurors are more likely to believe testimony when the witness steeples, for example. Women, in particular, tend to underuse steepling. Warning: Hand wringing or rubbing interlaced fingers together sends the opposite signal -- that you lack confidence or feel stress. Enter rooms without hesitation. Striding into a room with confidence creates a crucial first impression that you believe in yourself, so others should believe in you, too. If you pause or slow down when entering -- even for just a moment to get your bearings or find your assigned seat -- your hesitation could be taken as a sign of uncertainty. Keep your chin up. Holding your chin high shows that you have the confidence to expose your neck, something primates don’t do when they feel threatened. Remove your thumbs from your pockets. Hooking your thumbs in your pockets when standing will make you appear insecure. (Hands in the pockets are okay, but preferably just one, not both.) "You should hire me" There are many qualified applicants for almost every job opening these days. The nonverbal messages applicants send to interviewers often help determine whether or not they get the job... Use hand steepling to convey confidence, as previously discussed. Sit forward on your chair with both feet on the floor. Sit back and cross your legs only after the interviewer does so. Remain focused on the interviewer’s face. Your gaze can move around his/her face, but not around the room, even if the interviewer allows his gaze to wander. A wandering gaze can send a message of disrespect and is acceptable only for the higher-status individual in a conversation. Review where your résumé or other documents are within your briefcase before the interview. This should help you retrieve them quickly and smoothly during the interview, if necessary. People are less likely to trust people who seem disorganized. "Let’s calm down" Saying "calm down" tends to make people more upset, not calmer. Better to send nonverbal calming signals including the following... Position yourself at an angle to the upset individual. You are likely to make tense situations even worse if you position yourself directly face-to-face. Like all primates, humans tend to feel threatened when "squared off." Alternative: Take a walk with this person. Tilt your head slightly to one side. Tilting the head exposes the throat, one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. When you do it, you send a strong subconscious message that you feel comfortable and safe, so everyone else should, too. Tilting your head also communicates that you are listening intently. Step back or lean back in your chair. Creating a few inches of extra space during a tense moment can lower everyone’s blood pressure. Uncross your arms or remove your hands from your hips. These arm positions seem aggressive and angry, aggravating tense situations. If you are most comfortable standing with your hands on your hips, turn your hands so that your thumbs are forward. This makes you seem inquisitive, not angry. Cross your legs at the ankles when standing. The primitive part of the human brain avoids crossing the legs when it senses danger, in case we need to flee quickly. When you cross your legs, it says that you are neither anxious nor distrustful, so no one else present should be either. Speak slowly. This will calm you, increasing the odds that you will convey a sense of calm to others. Take a deep breath, then exhale even slower than you inhaled. This, too, will calm you and encourage those around you to be calm. Keep your hands in view. Those around you are likely to become more anxious during confrontations if your hands are not where they can be seen. The human brain worries that a hidden hand could be holding a weapon during a disagreement even if, rationally, this is extremely unlikely. Use slow, calm hand movements when you make pacifying statements. People are more likely to trust and believe you when your hand motions match your words. "Let’s be friends" Our nonverbal signals can encourage people to feel a connection with us -- or these signals can accidentally push them away... Flash your eyebrows. Immediately upon making eye contact with someone you want to know better, very dramatically arch your eyebrows at them for just an instant. This sends a strong nonverbal signal that he/she matters to you. Match handshakes and hand movements. People tend to form positive first impressions about those who have handshakes like their own. Start your handshake with moderate pressure, then tighten or lighten your grip to match the handshake you receive. Mirror the nature and intensity of this person’s hand movements during the ensuing conversation, too. Avoid face-to-face conversations. People are most likely to feel a close, personal connection with you if you are positioned at right angles or side by side. If you cross your legs while seated, cross toward, not away from, the person you are speaking with. Crossing away sends the message that you are closed off. Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Joe Navarro, retired FBI counterintelligence and counterterrorism special agent and supervisor who has studied nonverbal communications extensively, Tampa, Florida. He now consults with the FBI, the State Department and corporations. Navarro is author of Louder Than Words: Take Your Career from Average to Exceptional with the Hidden Power of Nonverbal Intelligence (HarperBusiness). www.JNForensics.com  Lessons from the "Super-Agers" James Berlau, PhD Want to live a long, healthy life? To learn how, just ask a "super-ager." That was the thinking of researchers at the University of California, Irvine, who recruited more than 1,000 residents from a retirement community to study what exactly caused these people to live to age 90 and beyond. Known as the "oldest-old," this group is comprised of about two million Americans and is the fastest-growing segment of the US population. The 90-Plus Study, which is ongoing, holds important lessons for all of us who hope to reach advanced age with our mental and physical faculties intact. What’s been discovered so far... * THROW OUT YOUR SCALE Obesity is harmful for everyone, but older adults who carry a few extra pounds are more likely to live longer than those who are lean. Surprising result: Adults in the 90-Plus Study with a body mass index (BMI), which is weight relative to height, of 25 to 29.9 -- a range that is considered "overweight" -- lived longer, on average, than those with BMIs of 18.5 to 24.9, the "normal" range.** (Participants’ average age was 72 when their BMIs were measured.) It is not clear why these extra pounds appear to be protective in older adults. It is possible that people who are somewhat overweight have better nutritional status overall than those who are lean. In addition, people with extra fat reserves may be better able to circumvent "wasting," the age-related loss of muscle tissue and strength that can lead to frailty and an increased risk for illness. Caution: In our research, being obese (a BMI of 30 and higher) at any age was not associated with a longer life span. And being overweight or obese at age 21 was associated with a shorter life span. EXERCISE WORKS Study participants who exercised for 45 minutes or more a day, most days of the week, were 27% less likely to die within an eight-year period than those who exercised less than 15 minutes daily. Their activities included swimming, biking, tennis, vigorous walking and dancing. They also were more likely to retain more of their memory and other cognitive functions. Striking research finding: Even participants who got very little exercise -- as little as 15 minutes a day -- lived significantly longer than those who were completely sedentary. Dementia risk is quadrupled: Among the oldest-old, those who scored in the lowest 20% in physical performance -- which measured such factors as balance and the ability to walk a certain distance -- were four times more likely to have dementia than those who scored in the highest 20%. Physical activity not only improves cardiovascular and cerebral blood flow, but also increases circulation so that brain cells receive more nutrients. There is also strong evidence that exercise promotes neurogenesis, the growth of new brain cells (neurons) and the connections between these cells. MONOPOLY, ANYONE? The onset of Alzheimer’s disease is one of the greatest fears of older adults. The incidence of dementia from all causes, including Alzheimer’s disease, doubles every five years between ages 65 and 85. Key finding: Participants in the 21-year Bronx Aging Study who spent three hours daily engrossed in mental activities, including playing board games, reading, dancing or playing a musical instrument, were significantly less likely to develop dementia than those who spent less (or no) time doing these activities. Examples: Specifically, participants who spent hours playing board games had a 75% lower risk of developing dementia... and those who spent a similar amount of time playing a musical instrument had a 70% lower risk. For optimal results: Aim for three hours of such activities daily. Shorter periods of mental focus can also decrease the risk for dementia, but three hours a day seems to be optimal. *To read about other research from the 90-Plus Study, go to www.alz.uci.edu/research/the-90-study-2. **To learn your BMI, go to the Web site of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Bottom Line/Health interviewed Daniel James Berlau, PhD, an adjunct assistant professor in the department of neurology at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. He specializes in neurobiology and memory and is a principal investigator in the ongoing 90-Plus Study. Important: Help your friends get much more out of life -- forward this E-letter to them. Better: Send it to many friends and your whole family. This is a free weekly e-mail service of BottomLineSecrets.com and Boardroom Inc. Boardroom Inc. 281 Tresser Boulevard Stamford, CT 06901-3229 ATTN: Web Team You received this e-mail because you have requested it. You are on the mailing list as healthwellness82@gmail.com. Or... a friend forwarded it to you. Disclaimer: Bottom Line Secrets publishes the opinions of expert authorities in many fields. But the use of these opinions is no substitute for legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services to suit your specific personal needs. 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