We’re all familiar with what lifespan means. It’s literally just the number of years you live.
But your healthspan is different. It measures not just how long you live, but how long you stay healthy. As the saying goes, “It’s not about the years in your life, but the life in your years.”
While your genetics may play a role in both your lifespan and healthspan, there are steps you can take to stay healthy longer.
Lifespan versus healthspan — what’s the difference?
Your lifespan encompasses all the years that you live. If you live to be 80, your lifespan is 80 years long.
Life expectancy is calculated based on factors like mortality rates and average lifespan of a population. Currently, the life expectancy for men in the U.S. is 75, and for women, it’s 80.
Healthspan takes the idea of lifespan and adds a twist. It’s the number of years you spend in good health, without any of the chronic conditions or disabilities that are often part of aging.
According to calculations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the current healthy life expectancy for men in the US is 63 and for women, it’s 65.
Why your healthy life expectancy matters
We all want to live longer. But would you still want to live longer if it just meant more years coping with chronic — maybe even debilitating — illnesses? Given the current statistics on average lifespans versus healthspans, Americans can expect to live about 15 years in poor health.
That is potentially a lot of years living with increased health care and caregiving expenses and decreased quality of life.
Proven ways to increase your healthspan
In an ideal world, your lifespan and your healthspan would be as close as possible to the same number of years. Living a long and healthy life is the goal. To live healthier for longer, it’s important to maintain healthy habits. These include:
- Eating for longevity: Aim for a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and lean protein — and limits high-fat, high-sugar processed foods.
- Exercising regularly: Get at least the recommended 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise, plus two days of strength training.
- Keeping an eye on key health numbers: Managing your cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar is important for avoiding chronic disease.
- Kicking bad habits: Don’t smoke or use recreational drugs, and avoid or limit alcohol intake.
- Managing stress: Find ways to help you reduce the stress in your life as well as ways to cope with it better.
- Sleeping well: Getting 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night has big health benefits.
- Staying socially connected: Loneliness is a risk factor for dementia. Staying connected to friends, family and your community also improves your overall quality and enjoyment of life.
Adding more life — and better health — to your years is possible. And the benefits include a longer, healthier, more enjoyable life.
