New research shows that ageing is associated with the same broad changes across species, with inflammation driving many of the processes. But, the molecular patterns associated with ageing can move in both directions. They can accelerate under conditions of stress and disease, but they can also slow down, and in some circumstances partially reverse.

New technologies are exciting, but what you can do is more important.

What you eat sends chemical messages to your cells.

Get even fitter mentally, and reduce your risk of dementia by

• Learning something new

• Re-learning a lost skill

• Rejoining your love of arts & crafts

• Doing mental exercise – e.g., cryptic crosswords

• Taking a formal course

• Engaging with your community and the NPC with purpose

• Volunteering, particularly with younger generations, will increase wellbeing

• Reducing isolation – optimize vision and hearing

Dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing.  Research shows its risk can be significantly reduced through lifestyle changes that protect brain health, cardiovascular health, and social and intellectual engagement.

Sir Muir Gray explores why stamina is essential for healthy ageing, how inactivity—not age itself—drives its decline, and why simple daily movement such as brisk walking can help rebuild fitness and support long-term independence.

A sense of purpose drives longevity and resilience.

Cognitive function can be maintained or improved at any age.

Suppleness is a key sign of biological youth. Flexibility, balance, and mobility protect against injury, stiffness, and loss of independence as we age.

Preventing falls is key to maintaining independence.

Building and maintaining muscle protects against disease and disability.

Muscle loss and physical vulnerability are preventable.

It’s never too late to reverse decline.

To hell with what other people think.

Small daily choices add up to long-term change.

Retirement can be a launchpad for contribution.

OLP Board Member Sir Muir Gray explains that ageing is a natural biological process -not a decline to be feared - and that by understanding it correctly, we can take action to live healthier, fitter, and more fulfilling lives at every stage.

This month’s Live Longer Better Plan explores how improving our environment can enhance health, resilience, and well-being. Submitted by an OLP subscriber and supporter, PhD candidate Gerda Bukauskaitė-Žiūkienė, this feature shares ten simple, evidence-based actions to help you improve your environment for yourself and others.

Sir Muir Gray introduces the fourth theme of the Live Longer Better Plan showing how shaping our physical and social environments to support activity, connection, and purpose can help us live longer better.

In this third theme of the Live Longer Better Plan, Sir Muir Gray explains how many diseases often linked to ageing can actually be prevented or managed through lifestyle and environmental changes—showing that with the right knowledge and actions, you can prevent, manage, and live well for longer.