Vol: 1 - Skillful aging newsletter
Health-span vs lifespan
As we get older, regardless of how old we are now, we change. This change is gradual and subtle yet constant.
Some of the change is positive: We gain wisdom, we achieve long sought after goals, we watch our families, friends and other treasured relationships grow. We hopefully become secure and content.
On the other hand, some of the changes we experience pose challenges. Maybe the most important (and scary) changes that we face are the physical changes to our body. These physical changes run the gamut from minor, almost unnoticeable, to major and ultimately life changing.
As Time goes on we start to notice things. It may occur to us that we don't seem to have the same energy or strength that we used to. Or, that little aches and pains stick around a little longer than they used to. Or, perhaps, we are a little more forgetful than we used to be. These are all examples of normal aging. They are what we expect... but not welcome.
The good news is that we have a tremendous amount of control of how this all unfolds.
As we know, aging can look very different from person to person. As your body ages it undergoes a physiological decline. The rate of this decline is different for different folks. One person's strength, stamina, disease status and cognition, at 75 years old can look like another person's at 60 years old. The difference in "markers of health" from person to person can be explained by biological age. Biological age refers to the aging process at the biological level vs the passage of time.
In other words, how well your body and brain function reflect your biological age. Biological age can be measured in different ways. One can look at medical tests measuring: cardio-vasular endurance, muscular strength, metabolism or brain function, among others. Or, we can get a general idea of how we're doing by simply considering how we feel and what medical issues we are facing.
It was generally accepted among doctors, up until recently, that the aging process was due solely to our genetics coupled with the passage of time. And, to some extent, this is true. But the genetic component is much smaller than we tend to think. One scientific paper [1] estimated that the genetic component to biological aging is as low as 27% (ranging up to 57%).
Whoa, wait, what!?! As little as 27% of our biological age is related to genetics? YES!
Because the aspects of aging we have no control over (genetics & time) are only a part of biological aging, what else is happening? Lifestyle. Specifically: exercise, nutrition, rest and other aspects of how we live our lives (stress, exposure to toxins, connectedness...).
So you can think of it as:
health-span vs life-spanHealth-span is the period of one's life that one is healthy, vital and self-sufficient. Life-span, on the other hand, is simply how long you will be alive.Even though we have no control over the passage of time, we do, as it turns out, have significant control over our health-span. We have this control because we can choose to embrace healthy lifestyle practices or not. No matter how old you are now or what your current health situation is, you can start to improve your health-span immediately (or not). Contrary to the myth that healthy practices are boring, bland, hard, painful and ultimately bound for long term failure, healthy practices are, in fact:
immensely enjoyable
delicious
exciting (when you want them to be)
tranquil (when you want them to be)
self rewarding
sustainable
In fact, for your healthy lifestyle practices to be of any benefit they have to be deeply appealing or you will not continue with them, no one would.
The challenge and ultimately the key to success is finding the unique mix of exercise, nutrition & rest that resonate with you individually. They have to be practices that you love and look forward to.
You can be confident that your wellness journey will be fun and rewarding because you will be: discovering new things that you love, eating tasty food, engaging in fun activities, getting more restful sleep and maybe even developing new or deeper social connections. And, at the same time, you will gain tremendously in: health, strength, staminina, vitality, cognition and wellbeing generally.
I'm super excited to start this journey with you all! Your health and wellness matter to me.
Be well, George
