I hear many people say they want to live a long life. They want to live as long as they can.  However, as my grandmother said, old age is not pretty.  Because of that, I want to live a long life. But only if it is filled with healthy activity.  What is the difference between life span and health span?

Life Span vs. Health Span

Life span refers to the number of years a person lives. An example is if he was born in 1940 and died in 2020. His life span or age was 80 years old. Health span is the number of years a person spends in a healthy state.  The time a body is healthy and free from major diseases or disabilities. 

• Life span: Total years lived
• Health span: Years lived in good health

Example: Someone might have a lifespan of 80 years, but if they experience significant health issues for the last 20 years of their life, their health span would be considered closer to 60 years. 

Increase Health Span

There are several things we can do to increase our health span.  We can put the work in now to maintain or improve our health or we can ignore it only to have to face the possible negative consequences later.  Here is a short list of priority activities but many additional elements can be added to the list.

• Improve Sleep– 7-9 hours per night
• Eat whole foods– avoid highly processed foods
• Hydrate– drink ½ your body weight in ounces of water per day
• Exercise– 30 min 5 days a week for starters
• Increase muscle strength– weight training 2-3 days per week

Set Goals

As we set goals for our future, we need to consider HOW we want to age.  Are we comfortable with letting the natural progression of age determine our fate?   Or do we want to be proactive about our future?  What is the difference between life span and health span for your future years?