It’s never too late: How older adults can restore optimal well-being, according to experts

Patients in Canada who were able to improve their emotional and mental well-being were on track for positive change later in life, a new study found. Maskot/Digital Vision/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

When it comes to aging and healthy living, we’re often given the same advice: Eat better, exercise every day and sleep more. But solely focusing on your physical health isn’t enough to achieve longevity, a new study has found.

Researchers looked at older adults’ optimal well-being, which they define as having social support; positive perceptions of aging, physical and mental health, happiness, and life satisfaction; and the ability to carry out daily activities without severe limitations.

“Our study of over 8,000 older adults found that many who were not in optimal well-being at the start of the study were able to regain it within just three years,” said Dr. Mabel Ho, the study’s first author, in an email, referring to the 1 in 4 older adults whose health significantly improved. “These findings challenge the notion that well-being inevitably declines with age and highlight the potential for positive change later in life.”

The study, published on September 24 in the journal PLOS One, was a secondary analysis of data collected from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

“These findings apply to older adults aged 60 and over who are not currently in optimal health or well-being,” said Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson, the study’s senior author, in an email. “The study offers hope and practical insights for older adults, caregivers, and policymakers by showing that with the right supports and lifestyle choices, many older adults can regain a high level of well-being even after experiencing sub-optimal well-being.”

More than 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older by 2040, and nearly 3 in 5 of them will need long-term services and support, according to a previous CNN report.

In 2023, about 93% of adults age 65 or older in the United States reported having at least one chronic disease, such as heart disease and diabetes. While not all chronic conditions can be avoided, many can be prevented by altering your lifestyle.

“Individuals who began with strong psychological and emotional well-being were nearly five times more likely to reach optimal overall health by the end of the study,” said Ho, a recent doctoral graduate at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and the Institute of Life Course and Aging.

The results “also underscored the critical influence of supportive relationships, socioeconomic conditions, and healthy lifestyle choices such as regular physical activity, not smoking, and good sleep,” she added.

But the study’s findings may not be applicable to all adults age 65 and older since the researchers focused their efforts in Canada, where patients have access to universal health care.

“These findings provide valuable insight into aging and well-being in the context of a high-income country with universal healthcare,” Ho said via email. “However, it remains unclear how well these results translate to the United States, where life-long universal healthcare is not available; similarly, more research is needed to understand how older adults in diverse global settings experience and regain well-being in low- and middle-income countries, where healthcare access, social supports, and economic conditions can differ significantly from Canada.”

Taking a holistic approach to health and aging

Physically, there are three main lifestyle changes you can implement to achieve healthy aging: exercise, sleep and diet.

And while behaviors like nutritious eating and strength training are important, they won’t be as effective if you aren’t also addressing issues of loneliness and maintaining positive relationships.

“One of the things I always say to my patients is, believe it or not, there’s no disease, dis-ease or lack of ease, without your mind. The mind-body connection is unbelievably underestimated by Western medicine,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. He was not involved in the study.

Chronically lonely adults age 50 and older have a 56% higher risk of stroke than adults lower on the loneliness scale, according to a previous CNN report.

Stress reduction and frequent socialization were also associated with improved cognition in adults experiencing early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

“Cultivating strong social connections is an essential component of overall well-being. Lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and addressing sleep issues like insomnia can also lead to meaningful improvements in health,” said Fuller-Thomson, professor and director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

“By focusing on these key issues, older adults may be able to build resilience and enhance their quality of life, even when managing existing health challenges.”

Never too late to make changes

The study highlights that it’s easier for younger adults to achieve optimal well-being, but that does not mean older adults can’t.

“Our study shifts the narrative by showing that well-being in older adulthood isn’t static. Many older adults can recover and regain optimal health even after setbacks,” Ho said.

“While previous research has often focused on decline, this adds a new dimension by highlighting the potential for resilience, recovery, and improvement later in life. It emphasizes that aging can include periods of growth and renewed well-being, not just loss.”

And healthy living can start with increasing your steps, said Dr. Joyce Oen-Hsiao, a cardiologist at Yale Medicine, who was not part of the study.

“A lot of my elderly patients, their outing is going to the store. So, I’ll say, well, don’t park at the parking spot that’s close — maybe park at the parking spot that’s a little bit further. And then that way you increase your steps, you get a little bit more mobile,” said Oen-Hsiao, who is also an associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

No matter your age, you can start making choices to get physically and mentally healthier, experts say.

“If you put your mindset that you’re going to get better, that you’re going to feel better, that you’re going to do better, that you’re going to achieve whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, it makes the odds of that actually happening significantly more,” Freeman said.