Extending 'Healthspan': Brain Scientists Tap Into the Secrets of Living Well Longer

A trend is growing among seniors to extend their "healthspan" — the years that a person can expect to live in generally good health — with brain research backing this up, reports Kaiser Health News . Aging specialists are calling on people to keep mentally and physically active as they get older in order to increase their healthspan. For example, the Acts Retirement Communities offer residents weekly social-based courses for brain fitness and memory training developed by Mount Sinai Professor Cynthia Green. She said these classes are offered at 150 retirement communities around the United States. "The idea is . . . to make people productive, healthier, and happier longer and more capable of taking care of themselves," said University of Texas (UT) at Austin Professor Andreana Haley. She has partnered with UT's Human Laser Lab to trial the use of low-level light therapy to boost brain energy and cognitive performance. Washington University School of Medicine Professor Tim Peterson noted the move toward greater emphasis on healthspan is sensible, given that research demonstrates that people who stay active and exercise their brain "tend to be healthier and have better brain function and will be physically healthier because of the brain-body circuitry."