For many of us, the arrival of a new year has a way of focusing our goals and priorities and we develop strategies for how we want to live in the year to come. What’s on your to-do list? Does it include addressing your health and well-being? Perhaps you’ve committed to more physical movement or made plans to try new creative endeavors. If your goal is to live and age in a healthier way in 2024, it’s a great time to plunge in and make valuable changes. We are fortunate to live at a time when the risks to healthy aging are fairly clear and the strategies for making things better and healthier are relatively accessible and available for most, though perhaps not so easy to do. So let’s review some of the basics of healthy aging and see where you can make some adjustments.

First, some basic facts on healthy aging from the National Council on Aging (NCOA).  As the NCOA makes clear, if you’ve reached age 65, on average, you can expect to live another 17 years. That’s a lot of time so working to preserve and extend your physical and mental health makes sense. That’s going to include efforts to forestall or improve any chronic conditions you may be at risk for (heart disease, cancer, stroke, dementia, diabetes, etc.) along with efforts to minimize your risk of falling, becoming afflicted with an infectious disease or living in isolation or with loneliness. While there are innumerable strategies you can employ to address all of these issues, LIVESTRONG has boiled it down to a set of 6 health goals to set this year if you’re over 50. No big surprises but some good common sense advice: Increase your physical activity, eat a healthy diet with emphasis on antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods, get your age-appropriate cancer screenings, stay on top of regular check-ups, make bone health a priority, and learn a new skill or subject this year (your brain will thank you).

Regarding those check-ups and screenings, the Washington Post recently published a useful checklist depending on your age, along with a recommendation that you schedule all of your necessary checkups for the year every January so it becomes an ingrained habit. And speaking of habits, there’s research to support the fact that adopting new, healthy habits to promote your health and well-being takes time and patience. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, recent studies have suggested it could take several months for you to be successful in accepting a new routine like going to the gym or trying a new diet, so don’t be too hard on yourself if it doesn’t happen easily or immediately. As one individual who tried to change her ways made clear, “I learned if you don’t give yourself grace, you feel like you’re failing every day.” One suggestion for making things easier and more successful? Simplify whatever you’re trying to do and just keep repeating it. So if getting in more steps is your goal, don’t make ridiculous demands on yourself- be realistic about what you can easily first accomplish and make that a routine before you become more ambitious. NPR also recently published a list of ways to help you get healthier in 2024 without having to try too hard. Among its easy-to-adapt ideas: Cut back on ultra-processed food without drastically changing your diet, incorporate more NEAT movement (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) into your day, and embrace little acts of happiness as mood boosters (like chatting with a stranger or petting a dog).

Finally, speaking of moods and mental and emotional health, think about what makes you happy and keeps you connected with others. While exercise and diet can be invaluable for improving and maintaining your health, you can’t leave out your social well-being, which includes staying connected to others. For some expert advice on how you can make sure to incorporate this into your life, listen to Science Friday host Ira Flatow interview Dr. Linda Waite, lead researcher at the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project in Chicago, about how social connections keep us physically and mentally healthy as we age. And one way to foster those social connections? Taking part in the arts for enjoyment. Whether it’s listening to a concert, participating in a choir, going to a museum, or watching a play, there’s new research published in Frontiers in Public Health demonstrating that taking part in an arts activity is linked with better physical health and mental well-being in older adults. For more on this research, make a date to go see a show and click here.