Lifespan vs Healthspan – what are you working towards?

In case you are wondering why you even need to know the difference between lifespan and healthspan then this is for those that are curious as to why the heck they should care.

Lifespan is the duration of existence of an individual, basically how long you are alive. The average lifespan in the US for women is just over 80 years.  I’m curious, do you all have a number you think you will hit? DM me on Instagram.  I’ll have to think about what my number is.

Healthspan is the length of time in one’s life during which an individual is in reasonably good health.  Interesting words merriam webster used to define healthspan ‘reasonably good health’

I guess that depends on how one interprets reasonably good health.

Personally, it’s protecting my independence (which I’ll never be ready to give up), to be able to do for myself until the end, and not be dependent on pharmaceuticals or need constant care. The good news is we can be proactive today in our health and wellness and close the gap between our healthspan and lifespan.  Increase our longevity and vitality with simple, sustainable shifts and feel youthful in the process.  Let’s be honest, we’ll never want to feel our age, we want to feel energetic and be active forever.

Tips on closing the gap

• Get yearly blood tests and get your health markers checked, it’s important to know if your body is declining, doing a stellar job at keeping you healthy or somewhere in between.  Don’t be shy with your doctor,  ask for additional testing if you are unclear.

• What you eat either supports our body in keeping us strong and healthy or works against it by adding to your body’s toxic load.  Start small but start and rethink what you are putting into your body and where you have room for improvement.

• Stay active, if you are struggling with getting in daily movement, it’s time to find another way.  It can be a social connection or quiet and meditative.  You can change it day to day depending on how you are feeling. That’s the great thing, you get to choose what works for you and find fun ways to move. Consistency is the secret, show up for yourself every day and enjoy the ride.  Yes at times (myself included) we have many reasons why we didn’t today or shouldn’t or even couldn’t…shit happens.  Get back to it asap even if it’s a simple 15 min walk and rebuild your daily movement.  

Be mindful to not overthink or overcomplicate wellness, enjoy it for the beautiful gift it is to yourself.  

My approach to wellness is to nourish, energize and restore it daily as I work towards closing the gap between my healthspan and lifespan.

Love,

Sheetal