{"id":590671,"date":"2026-08-12T05:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/590671\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T05:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T05:26:12","slug":"a-geriatrician-says-avoiding-comfort-is-key-to-healthy-ageing-heres-how-to-keep-challenging-your-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/590671\/","title":{"rendered":"A geriatrician says avoiding comfort is key to healthy ageing \u2013 here’s how to keep challenging your body"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018The healthiest people I see in their 80s and 90s as a geriatrician \u2013 a doctor who cares for older people \u2013 all avoided one thing over and over and over throughout their entire lifetime. And that’s comfort,\u2019 revealed Dr Stephanie Rogers<\/a> in a recent Instagram post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reason a little discomfort may be beneficial for longevity, she explains, comes down to a concept known as \u2018hormesis\u2019 \u2013 \u2018your body\u2019s adaptive response to moderate stress, meaning you want to challenge your body enough to push it to adapt but not so strongly that it causes some harm\u2019.<\/p>\n

In other words, putting your body and mind under just the right amount of stress \u2013 Goldilocks-style \u2013 can help build your capacity to adapt and become more resilient, notes Dr Rogers.<\/p>\n

And she encourages us to think about this in two areas: the physical and the cognitive.<\/p>\n

How to challenge your body as you age<\/p>\n

\u2018If you want to age well in your body, you always want to try new movements, new exercises, new ways of moving and challenging your body. If you\u2019ve always been a runner, maybe you want to try yoga<\/a>. If you\u2019ve always lifted weights, maybe you want to add on some balance<\/a> exercises.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, a recent landmark study<\/a> of more than 110,000 participants found that exercise variety was associated with living longer.<\/p>\n

Compared with those who did the least varied exercise, participants with the greatest variety of physical activity had a 19% lower risk of death from any cause and a 13\u201341% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer<\/a>, respiratory disease and other causes.<\/p>\n

Don’t forget to challenge your brain<\/p>\n

Avoiding comfort in the cognitive realm, notes Dr Rogers, might mean learning a new skill or taking up a new craft. Or, she says, \u2018you can even hang around new people and have new conversations about ideas you\u2019ve never talked about before\u2019 \u2013 all of that counts.<\/p>\n

A study<\/a> published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B found that adults aged 58\u201386 who spent three months learning at least three new skills, such as Spanish, drawing and photography, showed substantial cognitive improvements.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say you immediately need to start learning a new language while also becoming the next Picasso. But Dr Rogers\u2019s message still stands:<\/p>\n

\u2018If you really want to age well, avoid getting comfortable and always try new things.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women\u2019s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. \u00a0She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner\u2019s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. \u00a0A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She\u2019s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.<\/p>\n