{"id":32068,"date":"2025-07-18T09:03:38","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=32068"},"modified":"2025-07-18T09:24:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T09:24:15","slug":"your-joyspan-is-the-key-to-aging-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=32068","title":{"rendered":"Your Joyspan is the Key to Aging Well"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A long life doesn\u2019t matter much if you don\u2019t enjoy it.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019ve probably heard the term life span. And maybe you\u2019ve learned about health span<\/a>, a longevity term that describes the number of years someone spends in good health.<\/p>\n

Not to overload you with \u201cspans,\u201d but I just heard about another one: Joyspan.<\/p>\n

Joyspan is a term coined by Kerry Burnight, who was a professor of geriatric medicine and gerontology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine for 18 years. In her upcoming book, \u201cJoyspan: The Art and Science of Thriving in Life\u2019s Second Half,\u201d she says that a lengthy life span does not equal a life well lived: You have to like your life, too.<\/p>\n

Dr. Burnight, who has treated thousands of older patients, writes that aging need not be \u201cthe downhill slide that people believe it is.\u201d You can thrive, even when faced with health problems and challenges. \u201cHow we step up to those challenges can be the difference between thriving and suffering,\u201d she said. She has had some patients who have become immobilized by the realities of aging, such as a death of a loved one or a chronic condition, \u201cwhile others have been able to find creative ways to navigate their new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

And you can lengthen your joyspan through everyday choices, regardless of your age or physical condition, by focusing on four \u201cnonnegotiable\u201d actions she has identified in her research, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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I asked her to take me through each one.<\/p>\n