Healthspan - An Introduction

By MaryAnn Curl, MD MS; Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics

I was thinking about getting older this morning. I know it’s not a topic most people really want to discuss. Here’s the truth: If you’re alive, you’re aging. Hang with me for a minute. While aging is a mandatory part of living - you can’t get out of it except for dying young - I want to help you young people of all ages consider what you can do to age well.

We have all probably thought about our lifespan - how long we’ll  live. We know how long relatives made it and figure that we’ll be somewhere near there. Have you ever thought about your healthspan? This is how long in your life you’ll live healthy, free of illness.

The current evidence is that there are some decisions you can make and lifestyle behaviors you can adopt that will greatly affect your healthspan. I bet you can guess some of them. Yep - don’t smoke. Exercise regularly. Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. Get good restorative sleep. Eat a vegetable forward diet like the Mediterranean diet. Modulate your stress with practices like meditation. Tend to your mental and spiritual health. Be social.

The joke goes, “If I’d known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself.” Every good joke contains a kernel of truth. In this 9 part series, we’ll explore what the science says about the independent factors that you might consider to stretch out your healthspan and live well.

For now, congratulations on taking a good step - tending to your mental health. Welcome to Built for Better. Follow the link for more information on available services.

Here’s a good summary blog in case you want to read a bit more:
Healthspan is more important than lifespan, so why don't more people know about it? | Institute for Public Health | Washington University in St. Louis

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