Thriving in retirement: a holistic approach

During the period May 22-24, 2024, this year’s national CURAC conference was hosted by the University of Waterloo Retirees Association (UWRA). The conference theme, Thriving in Retirement, attracted over 100 retirees from across Canada and featured keynote speakers, break-out sessions and lightening tables. The first keynote speaker, Howard Armitage, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo, delivered a presentation titled “Designing Your Retirement: Thriving in Life’s Next Chapter.” The following is a summary of this insightful presentation.

In recent years, the concept of “thriving in retirement” has gained significant traction. This is partly due to the growing number of retirees in Canada. Currently, 20 per cent of our population is over 65 according to Statistics Canada, a figure that’s rapidly increasing. By 2030, an additional five million Canadians will turn 65. StatsCan reports that there are now 13,500 centenarians in Canada, a 43 per cent increase since 2018. This heightened interest in longevity is reflected in academic research, with more papers on this subject published since 2010 than in the previous 150 years combined.

However, the focus isn’t just on living longer but on aging healthily. Greater longevity is often accompanied by more illness, prompting the question: Do we want to live longer if our last years are plagued by poor health? University and college retirees are concerned not just with longevity but with how to thrive as they age.

As people live healthier and longer lives, the traditional retirement model is undergoing a paradigm shift. Retirement is increasingly seen as a new chapter in life, an opportunity for exploration and growth. This shift reframes retirement from primarily financial considerations to a focus on emotional preparedness, with plans and goals supporting the transition from primary careers to a stage of life filled with new opportunities. As a society, we’re embracing the belief that the greatest wealth is health. So, let’s define “thriving in retirement” as follows:

Thriving in retirement is a holistic concept encompassing physical health, emotional well-being, meaningful connections, continued personal growth, and a positive approach to life’s changes and challenges. It’s about actively shaping one’s post-career years to lead a purposeful and fulfilling life.

Achieving a thriving retirement lifestyle

Scores of books, articles, podcasts, newsletters and websites focus on longevity and healthspan. Prominent names in this field include Peter Attia (author of Outlive), Dan Buettner (author of The Blue Zones), as well as university research centres like the University of Waterloo’s Network for Aging Research and McMaster’s Optimal Aging Portal. Advocacy groups like RTOERO, NIA, and CARP also contribute valuable insights. Despite the diversity of sources, there is remarkable agreement on several core strategies for living longer and better. Here, we focus on the “Big Three”: exercise, social connections and diet.

The role of exercise

Exercise is often cited as the most crucial strategy for both longevity and healthspan. Stuart Phillips, director of McMaster’s physical activity centre of excellence and the centre for nutrition, exercise, and health research, highlights the benefits of exercise:

“Imagine a pill that reduced the risk and improved prognosis for all known chronic diseases; it would work regardless of current risk, race, gender, or age. We don’t need to test this pill as a large body of data shows its effectiveness. Other beneficial side effects of this pill include reduced anxiety, depression and improved sleep. Such a pill would be the world’s most widely prescribed medication. Sadly, there is no such pill. However, all these benefits come with greater participation in physical activity and exercise.”

Ample evidence suggests that even modest exercise provides substantial longevity and healthspan benefits. If you need encouragement, Dan Buettner suggests beginning with “exercise snacks.” Start slowly, find an activity you like, try increasing activity levels at 10 minutes per outing, additional minutes count, so look for groups or classes to up your active time, walk whenever or wherever you can, take stairs where possible, consider light weights….As Andre Picard noted in a recent Globe and Mail article, “what matters is fitness, not age.”

The importance of social connections

Social connections are vital to thriving in retirement. Peter Attia emphasizes, “Striving for physical health and longevity is meaningless if we ignore our emotional health.” Social interactions, volunteering and a sense of inclusion help retirees remain healthy, engaged, and productive. However, social isolation and loneliness are significant issues in Canada, affecting one in four retirees. Social isolation increases the risk of dementia, heart disease and stroke. Strategies to combat isolation include cultivating friendships, participating in community activities, staying connected with loved ones, volunteering and avoiding negativity.

Diet and nutrition

Diet is the third critical factor in thriving in retirement. There is no one-size-fits-all diet, but evidence suggests that diets rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, fish, polyphenols and whole grains, and low in sugar, processed foods, and animal meats, correlate with longevity and healthspan. The Mediterranean diet is often cited as a model. After years of extensive research, Peter Attia concludes with simple and straightforward advice: eat less, cut the junk, consume more protein and drink less alcohol.

The message: can we heed it?

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Longevity and healthspan are goals for almost all retirees. We want to avoid, or at least minimize, what Peter Attia calls the Four Horsemen: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and Type 2 diabetes (and related metabolic dysfunctions). While we all must eventually face the end of life, committing to healthspan strategies can add years to our lives and, more importantly, allow us to thrive in our later years. Our goal should be to enjoy “bonus” years or even decades rather than merely existing longer in poor health.

Moderate exercise, social connections, an improved diet, avoiding smoking and minimizing alcohol consumption are not overly difficult objectives. However, despite evidence that these strategies can lead to longer and more fulfilling lives, humans are remarkably resistant to changing ingrained habits. Alan Deutschman, in his classic article, “Change or Die,” asks:

“Change or Die? What if you were given that choice? For real. We’re talking actual life or death now. Your own life or death. What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act? If you didn’t, your time would end soon – a lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change really mattered? When it mattered most? Yes, you say? Try again. Yes? You’re probably deluding yourself. You wouldn’t change. Don’t believe it? You want odds? Here are the odds, the scientifically studied odds: nine to one. That’s nine to one against you. How do you like those odds?”

Embracing the challenge

In your quest to thrive in retirement, are you willing to consider the objectives and goals you want to achieve and take action to implement them? If so, it seems possible to push back on Mr. Deutschman’s conclusion and increase the likelihood of positive change. In The Miracle Morning, author Hal Elrod has helped millions of people change their lives by visualizing the process of achieving their goals. He advises, “the more vividly you see what you want, the more you make the possibility of achieving it become reality.”

There may be no magic bullet for longevity and continued health, but there are lots of steps that will take you in that direction.

Howard Armitage, an octogenarian recently retired from the University of Waterloo, thrives as an educator, athlete and mentor. In retirement, he supports start-ups, mentors students and volunteers in the community.