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When Maddy Dychtwald was in her teens and twenties in the 1980s, she was a working actor, shooting commercials for Skippy peanut butter and Dupont paint. It was clear that women, especially in her industry at the time, succeeded when they exuded youthfulness and met unrealistic beauty standards. The rhetoric that women hit their prime <\/em>at a certain age dissuaded Dychtwald from thinking positively about getting older and the longevity of her career.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou hit 30, 35 at the latest, and if you hadn\u2019t made it big, you just weren\u2019t going to,\u201d Dychtwald tells Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fast forward 50 years, Dychtwald is now the author of a book called Ageless Aging: A Woman\u2019s Guide to<\/em> Increasing Healthspan, Brainspain, and Lifespan. <\/em>She and her husband Ken Dychtwald, cofounders of the decades-old research and education platform, Age Wave<\/a>, are at the forefront of the age-inclusivity movement. Their work has profoundly shifted Dychtwald\u2019s perspective on embracing aging, and she takes pride in proving her younger self wrong. <\/p>\n Reframing aging makes life more rewarding and plays a massive role in how well people age physically and mentally<\/a>. <\/p>\n For millennia, women<\/a> have lived longer than men and have a unique opportunity to maximize their \u201clongevity bonus,\u201d Dychtwald, now 74, tells Fortune<\/em>. In Ageless Aging<\/em>, she outlines how women can take advantage of a long life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cScience tells us that women have really won that longevity lottery,\u201d she says. \u201cAging is an opportunity to reinvent yourself and try new things and have more energy than maybe you even had when you were younger.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite living longer, women spend at least a decade<\/a> at the end of their lives in poor health, more so than men, due to financial inequities, disease risks, and other factors. Because of this, Dychtwald says, there\u2019s is a pressing need to help women close the gap between lifespan<\/a> and healthspan\u2014how long you live vs how long you live in good health\u2014so they can thrive in their longevity bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere was this belief that genetics were our destiny in terms of our health and wellness,\u201d she says. But now, \u201cwe have agency that we never thought we had before. We make 80% of all health care decisions for our families<\/a> and for ourselves. We have the power, I believe, to really change the game for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are four pieces of advice Dychtwald outlines in her book to empower women as they age.\u00a0<\/p>\n Embracing the upsides of a long life is the first step in making getting older more exciting, especially for women who tend to face more stereotypical messaging about the need maintain a youthful appearance. Thinking positively about aging<\/a> can also influence how well you age by reducing chronic stress and the risk for chronic conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cRecognizing and appreciating the many upsides of aging is an essential ingredient to approaching longevity with a more positive mindset, which we know can influence our healthspan and our lifespan,\u201d Dychtwald writes.\u00a0<\/p>\n First, acknowledge the gifts of living a long life, Dychtwald says, which include self-awareness, wisdom, and the ability to interact with broader perspectives<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another upside? Dychtwald highlights the u-curve of happiness, which shows how people\u2019s happiness peaks when they\u2019re younger and older. She writes that the \u201csweet spot for happiness\u201d is between age 50 and 75, when people on average have fewer caregiving responsibilities and feel more confident in their careers, according to a 2023 study from Age Wave. It\u2019s a time Dychtwald\u2019s team deems the \u201cfreedom zone,\u201d and many women are embracing the growth mindset of trying new and exciting opportunities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But, women don\u2019t need to seek another degree or make a massive life pivot to feel like they are embracing their bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, from the studies we\u2019ve done at Age Wave, we found the number one way that people find a sense of purpose is by spending time with their family. And, the number one thing people are willing to try to have a sense of purpose is to adopt a pet,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s no magic pill to living a long, healthy life. However, we know more than ever that lifestyle factors<\/a>\u2014more than genetics\u2014can influence how well we age and how long we live. It\u2019s time to be the \u201cCEO of our own healthcare,\u201d Dychtwald writes in Ageless Aging<\/em>.<\/p>\n Instead of making sweeping lifestyle changes, Dychtwald says to take advantage of the domino effect of healthy habits<\/a>. Yes, it\u2019s a combination of eating well<\/a>, moving your body,<\/a> having strong relationships<\/a>, reducing stress<\/a>, and getting quality sleep<\/a>\u2014but it\u2019s also having faith that one will lead to the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere is this bouquet or holistic set of ingredients that work together,\u201d she says, especially for women when going through perimenopause, menopause, and hormonal changes. \u201cIf you start to sleep better, you\u2019ll have more energy and vitality to do the various tasks you\u2019d like to do during the day, including exercise. You can see this cascading effect that it can have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s no better place to look for aging wisdom than the women aging in positivity. \u201cAging is something to be embraced, not something to freak out about or run away from,\u201d Dychtwald says, who notes that Toni Morrison wrote her first novel at 40, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer was 52 when she had her own show on the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a recent YouTube<\/a> interview series called \u201cMoments That Make Us,\u201d Melinda French Gates<\/a>, who just celebrated her 60th birthday, interviewed Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey about the upsides of getting colder.\u00a0<\/p>\n All three women have set examples for the upsides of aging.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWomen used to not talk about their age as if we should be ashamed to be our age. But I\u2019m really proud that I\u2019m about to turn 60,\u201d French Gates said in the interview. \u201cShouldn\u2019t we celebrate? I hope by this age we have some wisdom, right?\u201d<\/p>\n As for CBS anchor Gayle King: \u201cAging is another word for living. I think if we are all lucky, we can get to that stage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Women are twice as likely to suffer from cognitive decline and Alzheimer\u2019s<\/a>. While fate is not entirely in your hands, \u201cthere are steps we can take to prevent and delay cognitive decline,\u201d Dychtwald says.\u00a0<\/p>\n While lifestyle factors play a role in brain and physical health, there are more precise ways to strengthen your memory <\/a>and brain power.\u00a0<\/p>\n This includes being a lifelong learner<\/a> who continues challenging the brain, connecting with others <\/a>which may help reduce the risk of dementia, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness.\u00a0<\/p>\n These tips are a place to start, but Dychtwald recognizes that financial, socioeconomic, and social inequities don\u2019t give everyone the same opportunities to reap the benefits of the longevity bonus.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more, here is a recap of four ways women can reap the longevity bonus:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nEmbrace the potential for more happiness\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lean into the domino effect of lifestyle changes\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Look at role models embracing aging\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Lengthen your brainspan\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n