Life-span vs Health-span or Well-span

We are hearing more and more about health-span versus life-span and why understanding the difference matters.

Health-span refers to the number of years a person lives in good health—free from serious chronic disease and with good physical function, cognitive ability, and independence.

Life-span is simply the number of years a person lives, from birth to death.Ideally, we would all like our health-span to last as long as our life-span. However, the reality is that many older adults live with one or more chronic medical condition, such as hypertension, arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, COPD, or asthma. Many older adults live with two or more multiple chronic conditions at the same time.

As people move toward the later years of their life-span, they may spend years managing the physical and cognitive effects of chronic medical conditions. These conditions can affect how we move, feel, think, and function—and may eventually increase our dependence on others.

For some people, achieving a traditional definition of health-span may no longer be realistic because chronic conditions have already caused lasting changes to the body and mind.. That is where another concept becomes important: Well-span.

What is Well-span?

Well-span is about how well we live and function throughout the years we have, even when chronic medical conditions are present.

Rather than focusing only on whether we have a diagnosis or whether we can eliminate a condition completely, Well-span asks:

How well can I manage my health, maintain my abilities, can I make improvements to my health and function, prevent development of related medical conditions and continue to live well the life I want to live?

For many chronic conditions, positive lifestyle changes can slow or stop further decline and, in some cases, lead to significant improvement or remission. Improving our health and physical function may mean less time spent managing medications, attending medical appointments, waiting for transportation, or depending on others for daily care.

Improved health and function can also reduce pain and depression while creating more opportunity, choices, independence, and freedom. Everyday activities can become easier, and recreational activities that once seemed out of reach may become possible again.

And these improvements are possible even at advanced ages.

We already know that people in their 80s and 90s can improve strength, balance, stability, and mobility. They can reduce frailty, prevent falls, regain independence in daily activities, and, in some cases, move from assisted living toward greater independence.

Improvements in blood sugar can help people better manage—and sometimes achieve remission from—diabetes. Improvements in blood pressure can improve cardiovascular health. Improved cardiovascular fitness, strength, and physical function may contribute to both a longer life and a better quality of life.

The important message is this:

It is never too late to improve your health and function. But waiting too long can reduce your options. The earlier we make meaningful lifestyle changes, the more opportunity we have to protect our health, preserve our independence, and maintain our ability to make choices about how we live.

Build Your Well-span

We cannot always control how long we live.

But we can often influence how well we live the years we have.

Start building your Well-span—and make it last your Life-span.

The sooner you begin, the more choices you may have.