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We devote an enormous amount of attention to how long we might live. But perhaps there's a better question:
How well will we live during those years?
Living to 90 sounds considerably less appealing if the final 20 years are characterized by poor health, limited mobility and loss of independence. That's why researchers increasingly distinguish between lifespan—the number of years we're alive—and healthspan—the years we spend in reasonably good health.
We can't control everything about how we age. Genetics matter. So do illnesses, injuries and sometimes plain old luck.
But there's also encouraging news. Many of the factors associated with healthy aging are things we can influence—and it's never too late to start.
Keep Moving—and Don't Forget Your Muscles
If there were a prescription for healthy aging that benefited almost every part of the body, it would probably be exercise.
Regular physical activity helps protect cardiovascular health, maintain mobility, improve sleep, support mental health and reduce the risk of numerous chronic diseases.
But as we get older, one particular type of exercise becomes increasingly important: strength training.
Starting in middle age, we gradually lose muscle mass and strength, a process that can accelerate considerably later in life. Eventually, that loss can affect something much more important than how much weight you can lift.
It can determine whether you can get out of a chair easily, carry groceries, climb stairs, recover from an illness—or catch yourself when you stumble.
Walking is excellent exercise, but walking alone doesn't provide all the benefits of resistance training. Exercises using weights, resistance bands, machines or simply your own body weight can help preserve both muscle and bone.
Think of muscle as an investment in future independence.
Protect Your Balance
Falls are not an inevitable part of getting older, but their consequences can become much more serious with age.
Balance can be trained just like strength.
Activities such as tai chi, yoga and specific balance exercises can help, as can strengthening the legs and core. Vision, hearing, medications and footwear can also affect fall risk.
And sometimes prevention is decidedly unglamorous: good lighting, handrails and removing something you keep tripping over may ultimately do more for healthy aging than the latest longevity supplement.
Eat for the Body You Want to Have Later
Healthy aging doesn't require a perfect diet.
But decades of research point toward some remarkably consistent themes: eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and other minimally processed foods; include healthy sources of fat; and limit excessive amounts of highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates and processed meats.
Protein deserves particular attention as we age because it helps preserve muscle.
Older adults can become vulnerable to inadequate protein intake, especially when appetite declines. Including a good source of protein throughout the day—such as fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, beans, lentils, tofu or other protein-rich foods—can help support muscle maintenance, particularly when combined with resistance exercise.
Give Your Brain Something to Do
Crossword puzzles are fine, but maintaining brain health involves much more than solving Sudoku.
Your brain benefits from many of the same things that protect your heart: exercise, healthy blood pressure, not smoking, adequate sleep and good nutrition.
It also appears to benefit from continuing to challenge itself.
Learn something unfamiliar. Travel somewhere new. Play an instrument. Take a course. Read. Volunteer. Learn another language. Try a new sport or hobby.
Novelty matters because it asks the brain to adapt rather than simply repeat things it already knows how to do.
Perhaps surprisingly, looking after your hearing may also matter. Hearing loss can contribute to social withdrawal and has been associated with cognitive decline. If you're increasingly asking people to repeat themselves, don't simply dismiss it as part of getting older.
Don't Underestimate Other People
One of the most important ingredients in healthy aging doesn't come from a pharmacy or grocery store. It comes from other people.
Social isolation and loneliness have been associated with poorer physical and mental health. Conversely, maintaining meaningful relationships can provide emotional support, stimulation, purpose and a reason to remain engaged with the world.
And this isn't about having hundreds of friends.
A few close relationships can be enormously valuable. So can clubs, volunteer work, religious or community organizations, sports, neighbours, family and regular activities that put you in contact with other people.
Social connection is not merely entertainment. It's part of health.
Have Something That Gets You Out of Bed
Retirement can bring tremendous freedom, but it can also remove something many people don't realize their working lives provided: structure and purpose. Purpose doesn't have to mean launching a second career or changing the world.
It might mean helping with grandchildren, caring for a garden, volunteering at an animal shelter, mentoring someone younger, travelling, joining a community organization or becoming unusually serious about improving your golf game.
What matters is having things that make tomorrow feel worth participating in.
Healthy aging isn't just about maintaining the body. It's about continuing to have a life you're interested in living.
Sleep Matters
Sleep sometimes becomes more complicated with age. We may fall asleep earlier, wake earlier or experience more fragmented sleep.
But the need for good-quality sleep doesn't disappear.
Poor sleep can affect mood, memory, appetite, immune function and cardiovascular health. Persistent snoring, gasping during sleep or excessive daytime sleepiness shouldn't simply be attributed to aging because conditions such as sleep apnea become increasingly common and are treatable.
Good sleep deserves the same attention we give diet and exercise.
Stay Ahead of Your Health
Healthy aging also involves catching problems before they become bigger ones.
Blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes screening, vaccinations, cancer screening, dental care, eye examinations and hearing checks may not feel like the exciting side of longevity, but preventive healthcare matters.
So does reviewing medications periodically.
As people accumulate prescriptions over the years, medications that were once useful may become unnecessary, interact with newer drugs or cause side effects such as dizziness and confusion.
It's worth occasionally asking your doctor or pharmacist a very simple question:
Do I still need everything I'm taking?
You Don't Have to Do Everything Perfectly
Perhaps the most reassuring lesson from healthy-aging research is that you don't have to live like a monk.
You don't need the perfect diet, an elaborate supplement regimen or two hours in the gym every day.
The fundamentals are surprisingly ordinary.
Move your body. Maintain your strength. Eat reasonably well. Sleep. Keep learning. Look after your medical health. Stay connected to other people. And have something in your life that matters to you.
Nor is healthy aging something you have to begin at 30.
Becoming more active at 55 is worthwhile. Starting strength training at 65 can make a difference. Improving your diet at 70 still matters. Making new friends at 75 isn't too late.
The human body retains a remarkable capacity to respond to positive change.
The Bottom Line
We can't stop ourselves from getting older—and perhaps that shouldn't be the objective anyway.
Aging well isn't about desperately trying to remain young. It's about preserving as much strength, mobility, curiosity, connection and independence as possible for as long as possible.
Lifespan tells us how many years we get.
Healthspan helps determine what we're able to do with them.
And while none of us gets complete control over how we age, the choices we make today can improve the odds that the years ahead won't simply be longer—but better.
