Monks outlive other men, European study finds

The lifespan gap between monks and nuns almost disappears inside the cloister, and community settings with a rule of life, scheduled prayer and purpose contributes to successful aging.

These are some of the findings of “The German-Austrian Cloister Study” conducted by Marc Luy of the Vienna Institute of Demography at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.

The 30-year research project to study health, ageing and life expectancy investigated the factors of health and longevity that revealed so-called “successful aging” – that is, a long and healthy life.

Around 16,600 order members participated (more than 9000 nuns, with the rest monks) in Germany and Austria, with a few members living in Switzerland and Italy.

Men in religious orders live on average about five years longer than men outside the cloister and monastic life seems to reduce some of the risks that shorten life, the study noted. Such communities provide an ordered daily routine and a structured schedule for work, eating and prayer, as well as long-term connections and shared purpose. Therefore, one has ideal conditions for mental and physical well-being.

What is more, in a monastic community, people take care of one another, and physical or mental decline is usually recognised sooner. Likewise, chronic stress is reduced and prayer helps with emotional stability.

About one year of difference in life expectancy between the two sexes is attributed to biological factors, according to the study. The bigger sex differences in life expectancy in the population are caused by non-biologically caused mortality of men and not by the low mortality of women, as is often believed.

However, “being a monk or a nun does not necessarily mean living an easy and peaceful life”, Slovak Sr Cecília Kasanová told EWTN News.

Although she admitted that a balanced lifestyle can influence longevity, “famous long-lived monks or nuns went through suffering, war, persecution because of their religious beliefs or imprisonment”.

Sr Cecília said she thinks it is “amazing” that those monks and nuns “had the strength to persevere and not give up”.

FULL STUDY

Why monks outlive other men: Inside a 30-year study of European monasteries (By Bohumil Petrik/EWTN News)