Šrámek
Quality life
There are areas that I believe are essential for living not just a long life, but a high-quality one. After all, who would want to live many years confined to bed, dependent on others, unable to care for themselves, failing to recognize loved ones, struggling with everyday mental tasks, or even losing their sense of self? That’s certainly not a picture any of us wish for. That’s why it’s so important to focus not only on how long we live but on how well we live.
Improving and maintaining good health — the key foundation of a high quality of life — ultimately comes down to avoiding (or at least delaying as long as possible) three major types of decline:
Cognitive: declines in performance, processing speed, and memory (with dementia as the extreme, though many less severe forms are widespread).
Physical: declines in stability, flexibility, mobility, strength, muscle mass, bone density, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, pain tolerance, and sexual function.
Emotional: declines in social connection, relationships, sense of purpose, fulfillment, and mutual engagement.
While death is inevitable, losing these pillars of health doesn’t have to be. If we want to extend not just life but the quality part of life, we first need to understand what stands in our way. So we must ask: Why do people die? The obvious answer might seem to be aging — but is that really true? I believe aging itself doesn’t kill. Aging is, in fact, the gradual wear-and-tear of the body. For most people, death comes not from aging per se but from a small set of diseases — many of which are preventable or at least postponable.
Why Do We Die?
In the Czech Republic, around 100,000 people die every year; typically, 50% from cardiovascular diseases (including heart and cerebrovascular conditions), 25% from cancer, and the remaining 25% from deaths related to metabolic dysregulation (which can take many forms, including type 2 diabetes, systemic insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), as well as injuries and neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia).
From this, it’s clear that if our goal is to improve both the quality and length of life, we need to focus on preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancer, metabolic dysregulation (especially by avoiding the development of metabolic syndrome or addressing it if we already have it), and neurodegenerative diseases.
Now, let’s look at the concrete steps we can take to maximize our chances of delaying the onset of these conditions.
I believe there are five key areas I call “the foundational pillars of quality life,” where most of the interventions that extend life take place. These are:
Physical activity, nutrition, sleep, mental health, and functional breathing.
Physical Activity
All our movement depends on a functioning muscular and skeletal system. That’s why they are absolutely essential for a long and quality life. Sufficient physical activity is a decisive factor in building and maintaining functional muscles and strong bones. Nowhere else is the rule truer: “if we don’t use it, we lose it.”
Quality Sleep
It’s well known that the importance of sleep lies in the regeneration of both physical and mental functions, allowing not only the restoration of physical strength but also improving memory and supporting emotional stability. Only recent research has shown just how essential quality sleep is for practically every human activity.
Functional Breathing
It is one of the foundational pillars of health and longevity. This is where it all begins. If we don’t breathe correctly, we will never achieve the maximum benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Breathing allows us to tap into our nervous system, regulate immune responses, and regain lost health. Changing how we breathe can extend our lifespan.
Healthy Nutrition
By consuming a balanced diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients, we support the optimal functioning of our body, strengthen the immune system, and reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. Beyond the physical benefits, healthy nutrition also contributes to better mental health — together, this helps maintain not just a longer but above all a higher-quality life.
Mental Health
Can you imagine living a long life where you constantly feel miserable, unhappy, or depressed? What would be the point of a long life if you yourself were not happy — or if you couldn’t make the people you care about happy? Our mental and emotional health is closely tied to our relationships.
Other Factors
Extending life and improving its quality is such a broad and continually evolving topic that not all interventions can fit under the mentioned foundational pillars. In this section, we’ll look at additional elements that influence lifespan and quality of life — for example, the effects of heat and cold, the influence of light and circadian rhythms, various types of preventive screenings, and more.
