Extending Life Span and Healthspan

 

Healthy aging requires developing and maintaining the functional ability necessary to ensure well-being in life’s latest decades. Declines in functional capacity and increased chances of developing chronic diseases accompany aging. Therefore, how to preserve biological, physical, and mental health, or healthspan, as we grow older has become increasingly significant for lifespan. 

In recent years, research on healthspan explores how to maintain this good health and quality of life while extending lifespan. Environmental and modifiable factors can be leveraged to slow age-related processes and promote good health throughout life. 

Longevity is an aspiration, to extend life by reducing mortality. Healthspan is the core value of longevity. It focuses on the impact of health on a person’s ability to live a fulfilling life. A happy life is not only measured by years lived, but also by the quality of those years. A quote well said that “longevity without healthspan is the greatest curse in the world”. 

Quality of life for older adults, according to the Merck Manuals, meaning a person is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy life events. These goals are basic and simple. 

Two major factors may enhance healthy aging process are western medicine and lifestyle choices.

To learn more about research and drug development of gerotherapeutics and habits linked to a long healthy life, go to https://qualitylifeforum.weebly.com/2023-april-extending-lifespan-and-healthspan.html

Health span is the period of life spent in good health, free from the chronic diseases and disabilities of aging. Many are now putting more weight on increasing healthspan in an effort to maximize the quality of life in later years. The concept of a healthspan is less cut-and-dried than that of lifespan, but the principle of measuring healthspans is concrete, with a focus on increasing quality of life instead of simply increasing length of life. The American life expectancy was 79 years in 2019 pre-pandemic (but around 76 years in 2022). The average healthspan is around 66 years old in 2019, according to the American Heart Association.

While everyone gets older, not everyone feels their age. For aging perception, feeling young and free of pain and physical limitations are associated with a wide variety of benefits for health and well-being. In many ways, life improves with age, even after came through the youthful years.

Stay connected with Quality Life Forum on your wellness journey. A health coach can keep you motivated for goal achievement and help you to be the best of yourself.  Contact Qualitylifeforum@outlook.com for your healthy aging needs.