How can I extend my healthspan?

We’ve become pretty good at living longer. Thanks to modern medicine, safer environments, and better access to food and clean water, average life expectancy has soared over the past century. But while we’re gaining years, we’re not necessarily gaining healthy years.

That’s where the idea of healthspan comes in. It’s the length of time you spend living in good health without chronic illness, physical limitations, or cognitive decline. However, your healthspan might not be keeping pace with your lifespan.

According to global research, people around the world spend an average of 9.6 years in poor health at the end of their lives.¹ It’s a growing concern, especially as more people live well into their 80s and 90s. The question now is shifting from “how long can I live?” to “how long can I stay well?”

What’s the difference between lifespan and healthspan?

Living to 90 sounds great, until you realise you could spend your final decade battling multiple illnesses, limited mobility, or cognitive decline. That’s not the future anyone wants.

Put simply, the definitions are the following:

• Lifespan: how long you live

• Healthspan: how long you live without serious disease or disability

Can we actually increase our healthspan?

Yes, and it doesn’t necessarily require fancy tech or miracle drugs. While some researchers are working on newer treatments to slow the biological ageing process, most of what affects your healthspan is within your control.³

We can break this down into four core pillars of healthspan optimisation:

1. Exercise

If there’s one thing every expert agrees on, it’s that exercise is the cornerstone of a longer, healthier life. We’re not just talking about cardio.

Resistance training (lifting weights, using resistance bands, or bodyweight movements) may be even more important as you age. That’s because strength declines with age, and without it, everyday tasks like getting up from a chair or climbing stairs become difficult or even dangerous.

Even walking daily can make a difference. It’s not about being extreme. It’s about being consistent.³

2. Nutrition

One of the biggest enemies of healthspan is overnourishment, which is the act of eating more than your body needs. Over time, this increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.⁴

To help improve your healthspan, you should work on eating for the energy levels your body requires, while still meeting your nutritional needs. That might mean:⁴

• Eating fewer processed carbs

• Increasing your protein intake to protect muscle

• Avoiding extreme diets that compromise your strength or energy

There isn’t one right or wrong way of eating. Just do what works best for you, ensuring that you’re giving your body what it needs, and not what your eyes desire.

3. Sleep

Sleep is referred to as restoration for good reason. Poor sleep is linked to almost every age-related disease, from Alzheimer’s to heart problems. And to not sleep is not just a drain on your performance, but also a drain on your health.⁵

Adults need 7–9 hours of quality sleep a night. If you’re struggling to sleep, here are a few tips you can try:⁵

• Going to bed and waking up at the same time daily

• Limiting caffeine and alcohol in the evening

• Keeping screens and bright lights out of the bedroom

  4. Emotional wellbeing

Chronic stress, loneliness, and poor mental health all take a physical toll. Cortisol (the stress hormone) affects everything from blood pressure to immune function. Meanwhile, social isolation has been linked to early death as strongly as smoking.⁶

Building meaningful connections, practising mindfulness, and seeking support when needed are all essential for a longer, better life.

The numan take

You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Most experts would advise against going “all in” for a month only to crash and burn. Instead, focus on sustainable change. If that means adding one 20-minute walk a day, great. Swapping crisps for nuts? Excellent. Going to bed 30 minutes earlier? A win. Increasing your healthspan is about progress, and ultimately, adding more healthy years to your life.

References

1. ^{Garmany A, Terzic A. Global healthspan-lifespan gaps among 183 World Health Organization member states. JAMA network open. 2024;7(12): e2450241.}

2. ^{Harris J. The healthspan revolution: how to live a long, strong and happy life. The guardian. The Guardian; 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/28/healthspan-revolution-how-to-live-long-strong-happy-life [Accessed 7th July 2025].}

3. ^{Guan Y, Yan Z. Molecular mechanisms of exercise and healthspan. Cells (Basel, Switzerland). 2022;11(5): 872}

4. ^{Wickramasinghe K, Mathers JC, Wopereis S, Marsman DS, Griffiths JC. From lifespan to healthspan: the role of nutrition in healthy ageing. Journal of nutritional science. 2020;9(e33): e33.}

5. ^{Sambou ML, Zhao X, Hong T, Fan J, Basnet TB, Zhu M, et al. Associations between sleep quality and health span: A prospective cohort study based on 328,850 UK Biobank participants. Frontiers in genetics. 2021;12: 663449.}

6. ^{Crowe CL, Domingue BW, Graf GH, Keyes KM, Kwon D, Belsky DW. Associations of loneliness and social isolation with health span and life span in the U.s. health and Retirement Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences. 2021;76(11):}