Healthspan vs Lifespan: Which One is Better?

Reviewed by the BioHackers Lab Team | Last updated: January 28, 2023

Some people want to live as long as possible; whilst others want to live as healthy as possible for however long they will live. This is why some people focus on healthspan and others focus on lifespan.

I think most people would prefer to have lived a healthy life in the whatever time they have vs trying to live as long even if that means having a lower quality of life in your last years.

This is why when I created the BioHackers Lab podcast I used the slogan “How to live your best life” because I personally want to live as good of a life mentally, physically and socially in the time I have been given on this earth.

Definitions

What is the Definition of Healthspan?

According to this research article, The definition of healthspan is the period of life spent in good health, free from the chronic diseases and disabilities of aging.

What is the Definition of Lifespan?

According to Britannica, the definition of lifespan is the period of time between the birth and death of an organism.

Google Trends Data

Lifespan vs Healthspan Search Trends Data

I was interested to see which phrase/topic is searched for more on Google and can see in the US that more people look for lifespan vs healthspan online.

How to Live Longer vs How to Live Healthier Search Trends Data

By adding the two phrases I think most people want to know about each topic I can see more people in the US are looking for how to just live a longer life. Maybe the assume living longer means you are living healthier? That is not the case.

WHO Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) Data

Data Source: https://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.HALEXREGv?lang=en

What I find interesting here is that for most people in the US, Canada, UK and Western Europe the average healthy life expectancy is around 63 years old, but life expectancy is higher than that.

This means that we, on average, live up to 20% of our lives unhealthy. Needless to say, that is a long time.

Tim Peterson, assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis

Why Healthy Aging is More Important Than Longevity

I personally think we should be grateful for everyday we live as know one knows exactly how long they will live for, you never know what you will encounter on your life journey.

By trying to support your health as best you can I feel will allow you to try achieve a healthspan that hopefully is 95%+ of your lifespan. Meaning, for as many years that you live; you live them in a state of good health.