Forget Healthspan. Meet “Peakspan.”

You Should Know: If you follow wellness trends, you’ve probably heard of healthspan by now — the number of years you live free of serious disease. Now, researchers publishing in Aging and Disease have introduced “peakspan,” defined as the window of time when you’re operating at 90% or more of your peak capacity in a given physical or cognitive domain. They argue that by age 50, most people have already exited their peakspan for most body systems, even if every lab result looks perfectly fine.

Going Deeper: The research mapped peakspan across nine body systems, revealing that declines begin earlier than most people expect. Both aerobic capacity and fluid cognition (processing speed and working memory) peak in your mid-20s, so the gap between your current abilities and your peak starts widening long before any symptoms or diagnosis appears. Waiting for a clinical red flag before intervening means the decline has already been underway for years.

Takeaway: Aerobic exercise and resistance training are evidence-based ways to slow the downward spiral of aging. And the earlier you can start, the better.

Bottom Line: Expanding your peakspan is about performing at your best for as long as possible. Early action is key to preserving strength, cognition, and overall health.