About longevity

Personally, I am not a big fan of the word “longevity”, because it not only fails to capture the essence of the topic, but can also send us in the wrong direction. Most people think that the goal of longevity practices is simply to extend life — when in reality that is only a side effect.

The real goal is to extend health, meaning to maintain our peak physical and mental condition for as long as possible. In an ideal world (and we are still far from it), at the age of 80 we could enjoy the health of a 20-year-old.

Think for a moment: how many people truly want to extend a late, painful old age? Probably very few.

And how many would like to feel like a twenty-year-old at retirement age? Probably everyone.

This is why the word “longevity”, which in its sound emphasizes the length of life rather than the length of health, is somewhat misleading.

And yet we are stuck with using the word “longevity”. Unfortunately, it is the one that has gained popularity and if we want our message to reach a wide audience, we simply have to use it. Only later can we explain the nuances and the true meaning of the whole concept.

So before we go any further, let’s clarify the basic concepts and the misunderstandings that have grown around them.

In this lesson, we will focus on three key concepts:

1. Lifespan – how many years we live.

2. Healthspan – how many of those years we spend in full strength, physically and cognitively capable.

3. Sense of wellbeing (happiness) – how good we feel mentally and emotionally.

Each of these elements is important, but each requires a different set of actions and a different type of investment in health.

Even though lifespan may not be the true ultimate goal of the longevity movement, we still need to state the obvious — in order to enjoy health and happiness, we first need to be alive at all, which means we also need a sufficient length of life.

You can have excellent body composition, great memory or fantastic relationships, but if your life is cut short prematurely, you will never have the chance to enjoy the fruits of your work. That is why the first and most fundamental goal of longevity is to minimize the risk of the most common causes of death.

This is precisely the area where medicine and science have made the greatest progress: today we can significantly reduce the risk of diseases that for decades were almost a death sentence.

Today, the most common causes of death are:

• cardiovascular diseases (heart attacks, strokes, atherosclerosis),
• cancers, especially those related to lifestyle,
• metabolic disorders (obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes),
• neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s).

When you work on reducing the risk of these diseases — through activity, proper nutrition, sleep, screening tests and taking care of metabolic parameters — you create the greatest possible impact on your lifespan.

This is not abstract. Statistically, most people leave this world prematurely due to conditions that could have been prevented, or whose progression could have been delayed by decades.

That is why longevity starts with protecting the foundation: to live healthily and happily, you must first live.

This is where the game that we care about the most really begins. Because what’s the point of living long if most of those extra years are spent in pain, with limited capacity, dependent on medication, the help of loved ones and the healthcare system?

The problem of the modern world is that lifespan is increasing faster than healthspan.

This means that:

• we add years to life,
• but we do not add life to those years.

More and more people spend 10, 15 or even 20 of their final years with chronic diseases, limited mobility, frailty and degeneration of the nervous system.

Healthspan depends primarily on your physical and cognitive assets, such as:

• body composition (low body fat + sufficient muscle mass),
• strength and power (ability to perform daily activities),
• bone health (mineral density, resistance to fractures),
• cardiorespiratory fitness (the ability of the heart and lungs to work under load),
• metabolic health (glucose, insulin, lipids, inflammation),
• mobility and balance (joint function, range of motion, stability).
• memory (the ability to store and recall information),
• processing speed (how quickly the brain solves tasks and reacts),
• executive functions and attention (planning, focus, decision-making, impulse control),
• cognitive reserve and learning capacity (adaptability, cognitive flexibility, ability to acquire new skills).

It is precisely these assets that will determine whether at 70, 80 or 90 years of age you will be able to:

• walk up the stairs,
• get up from the floor without help,
• travel,
• exercise,
• and remain independent.

Preserving healthspan provides the greatest “return on investment” in the entire strategy — because it gives you the ability to live the way you want to live.

You can live long. You can live in good health. And still not feel happy.

Why? Because lasting wellbeing does not come from blood test results, VO₂max scores or body fat percentage. It is the result of a third, often ignored category of assets: emotional / mental health.

It includes:

• emotional resilience — the ability to get back up after difficult moments,
• stress regulation — the capacity to maintain hormonal and nervous system balance,
• a sense of meaning and purpose — the deep “why” of your life,
• social relationships — contact, support, community, trust, bonds.

Research here is clear: People with strong relationships, a sense of meaning and good emotional regulation:

• live longer,
• have lower levels of inflammation,
• get sick less often,
• recover more quickly after injuries and infections,
• age more slowly biologically,
• and report higher happiness — regardless of age.

Without these assets, even perfect physical health is not enough to truly enjoy life. In addition, good emotional health can buffer periods that are more difficult for your physical health.

This is why in the Longevity Investment Strategy, working on emotions, stress, relationships and a sense of purpose is just as important as working on muscles, mitochondria or VO₂max.

When you decide to play the game of longevity and long-term health, you have to accept one basic principle:

Because:

• if you have lifespan but not healthspan → you face a long but difficult life full of limitations,
• if you have lifespan and health, but no sense of wellbeing / happiness → it is hard to truly enjoy life,
• if you focus only on emotions but not on physical health → you will not maintain your quality of life in the long term,
• if you focus only on the body but ignore stress and relationships → the body will eventually break down as well.

Longevity means:

• a long life,
• a long healthspan,
• a life that feels meaningful (a sense of wellbeing / happiness).

Each of these elements requires a different set of tools and a different strategy — that is why the Longevity Investment Strategy divides health into three categories of assets:

• physical health,
• cognitive health,
• emotional health.

If you have decided to play the longevity game, please remember:

That is why we will learn strategies that:

• reduce the risk of the most serious diseases (lifespan),
• build your physical assets (healthspan),
• strengthen your emotions and relationships (wellbeing).