What has your geriatrics practice taught you about aging well?

After every clinic, I feel that I have learned something on "how to age well" from my patients. My top takeaways -

1. Positive attitude tops all other coping skills. Two different patients with similar age, similar comorbidity burden, and similar social circumstances will have opposite views simply based on their attitude. One would think she/he is the most fortunate person, and the other one will count each of the problems daily. My takeaway: learn to see the positive and count blessings.
2. Keeping...

What a great question!

I have become convinced that if there is a fountain of youth, it lies in two things: regular exercise and meaningful social interaction. Patients who focus on these two things seem to age better than those who don't. One other thing, actually, is the concept of resilience. Patients who can adapt to change and take what life throws at them, and still focus on what they can do rather than on what they have lost, seem to be the happiest!

I have learned (and continue to learn) so many things; I am not quite sure where to start! The most immediate answer to this question is that taking care of your body - eating well, staying physically active, managing medical issues as they arise- and your mind- addressing mental health, managing stress, staying socially connected- are key foundational components of health that seem to compound with time and age. On a deeper level, I have learned that "aging well" is a relative term that, in our...

I have to say this is a great question. Having purpose is definitely on top of my list. That would pull other answers into their lives, including eating well and healthy, coping with the loss, exercising regularly, etc. Definitely, having good genes matters if you want to live past 100 years old, but having a good purpose would be THE key to aging well, in my opinion.