#342 ‒ Aging well: Peter shares strategies for improving longevity with residents at a senior living center

The Peter Attia Drive

Peter Attia, MD

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Fitness

4.7 • 7.3K Ratings

🗓️ 31 March 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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In this special episode of The Drive, Peter joins a unique conversation inspired by his daughter’s volunteer experience at a senior care center, where she formed meaningful relationships with residents curious about healthspan, lifespan, and strategies for living well as they age. Peter engages directly with the residents, covering critical topics like the profound impact of exercise—particularly strength training— for maintaining mobility, preventing falls, and preserving independence later in life. He also discusses the importance of nutrition, emphasizing adequate protein intake, along with strategies for sleep optimization and preservation of brain health. Peter also underscores the importance of emotional wellness, purpose, and social connections in healthy aging, provides advice on staving off chronic disease, and much more.

We discuss:

Peter’s definition of longevity [2:30];
Why it’s never too late to invest in your longevity [5:30];
The importance of adding “life to years” rather than just “years to life” [7:45];
The "four horsemen"—heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and metabolic conditions [9:15];
Advice for those managing chronic diseases later in life [11:30];
Why balance declines and falls become increasingly common with age, and how to prevent them [13:30];
Why strength training is essential (and effective) for older adults [18:30];
The five tools in Peter’s longevity toolkit [21:00];
Practical ways older adults can safely begin exercising despite physical limitations or health issues [23:00];
Principles of good nutrition, and the importance of adequate protein intake [24:00];
The importance of sleep for cognitive health, and effective sleep-improvement strategies for seniors [27:30];
How emotional health, social connections, and a sense of purpose significantly impact quality of life and longevity [32:00];
Why Peter decided to focus his work on longevity [33:45];
Protein intake recommendations should be based on ideal body weight (not current weight) [34:45];
The potential of klotho as a therapy for improving cognitive function and combating aging-related cognitive decline [35:30];
The best types of protein supplements to consider [36:45];
The APOE gene's influence on Alzheimer's disease risk, and why everyone should proactively address brain health, regardless of genetics [38:15];
How falls can accelerate cognitive decline, and the importance of staying physically and mentally active [40:45]; and More.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone. Welcome to the Drive podcast. I'm your host, Peter Attia. This podcast, my website, and my weekly newsletter all focus on the goal of translating the science of longevity
0:21.5	into something accessible for everyone. Our goal is to provide the best content in health and
0:26.7	wellness, and we've established a great team of analysts to make this happen. It is extremely
0:31.6	important to me to provide all of this content without relying on paid ads. To do this,
0:36.6	our work is made entirely possible
0:38.2	by our members, and in return, we offer exclusive member-only content and benefits above and beyond
0:44.4	what is available for free. If you want to take your knowledge of this space to the next level,
0:49.6	it's our goal to ensure members get back much more than the price of the subscription.
0:58.5	If you want to learn more about the benefits of our premium membership, head over to peteratia m.com forward slash subscribe.
1:04.2	Welcome to a special episode of the drive.
1:06.8	This conversation is a bit different from our usual format as my daughter, Olivia, trades places with me to take this seat as the interviewer as we visit a senior living center to discuss all things longevity as it relates to an aging population.
1:20.9	A bit of background. Olivia spent part of her summer last year volunteering at this center where she connected with a number of the
1:28.0	residents who had an interest in curiosity about health span, lifespan, and strategies for living
1:35.1	well as they age.
1:37.2	And through that experience, they invited me to speak with their audience and we decided to
1:41.1	record it and release it to you as well. In this conversation, we speak
1:45.5	about all of these topics, but with a particular focus around an aging population. So we talk about
1:50.7	what longevity really means, not just adding years to life, but life to years. We talk about the
1:55.7	four horsemen of chronic disease. Talk about why it's never too late to start making changes for
2:00.3	better health. Talk about the critical role of too late to start making changes for better health.
2:01.2	Talk about the critical role of exercise, especially strength training in maintaining mobility,
2:05.4	preventing falls, and preserving independence and how to approach exercise later in life.
	...

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