Do you find yourself taking stock and setting goals around the time of New Year’s?

It is indeed an excellent time to reflect on the past year. 

And although one can set goals at any time of year, the start of the calendar year is a time that seems to inspire many people to think about their health and how to thrive over the coming year.

If better health while aging is important to you, here are my top ten suggestions for the coming year. 

If you are in your sixties or older, you can consider these for your own healthy aging. Or, if you are concerned about an older parent’s health, you can help them address these over the coming year.

Just don’t resolve to address them all within the first few weeks of the year. Instead, it’s better to pace yourself, and pick 1-2 items to focus on each month.

10 Ways to Foster Better Health While Aging in 2026

1. Strength train at least twice a week

I’ve heard a longevity expert say that if he had to pick just one thing to improve longevity, it would be resistance exercises, which explicitly cause the muscles to build strength.

Now, as an older person, you really want to make sure you are doing all four types of exercise: strength, endurance (also known as “cardio”), flexibility, and balance.

But research over recent years keeps finding that strength training (e.g. weight lifting or other exercises that strengthen muscles) is especially beneficial as we age.  Without strength training, muscles weaken as we age, which can lead to anything from falls to difficulties with daily activities.

To maintain your muscles, combine strength training with adequate protein intake; this has been shown to improve muscle mass. I generally recommend aiming for 1.2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight (1 kilo = 2.2 pounds), per day.

I cover more on exercising to age well in this video:

2. Cultivate a positive attitude about your own aging 

Did you know that more positive self-perceptions of aging have been repeatedly linked to better health?

In fact, a study published in 2023 found that older adults with mild cognitive impairment were significantly more likely to recover back to normal, if they had more positive self-perceptions of aging.

Because the evidence keeps finding benefits to having a more positive and accepting attitude about one’s aging, I’ve decided to make this a top recommendation this year.

Now you may be wondering: how to do this? This is a good question, because as you may have noticed, society unfortunately tends to bombard us with negativity around aging, which means many of us have internalized ageism.

But the good news is that our attitudes about aging can be improved, especially when we take time to examine our own attitudes, and if we are exposed to positive age stereotypes.

Now, you should know that changing your attitude about aging is not something you can do quickly by force of will; your attitude is largely in your subconscious, and in most cases it takes time and persistence to change deep-seated beliefs.

But what you can do this January is set an intention to cultivate a more positive attitude, and then see where that takes you. 

(A mindfulness practice and acknowledging any fears you have about aging will also help you.)

Note: Be very careful about encouraging someone else to change their attitude about aging. If an older loved one is expressing negativity about aging, what they need is to feel heard and understood, and they won’t feel that way if you try to reassure them or press them to see the bright side. Instead, listen attentively and compassionately. Once they feel heard and understood, you can potentially gently ask them to share what they do find good about aging.

3. Prevent falls with leg strength and balance exercises

Poor leg strength and balance are a common cause of falls in older adults. So working to maintain this is especially important for those older adults who have either fallen over the past year, or feel afraid of falling.

Check on your strength and balance with these easy assessment tests: the Timed Up and Go, the Chair Rise, and the Four Stage Balance Test.

It’s best to do these with a professional, but you can also try them at home first, especially if another person is there to lend a hand.

If you seem low on strength or have poor balance, talk to your doctor or therapist about whether the Otago fall prevention exercises might be right for you. Another form of exercise proven to reduce falls is Tai Chi.

You can view videos showing the assessment exercises and the Otago exercises here.

You can also learn more about which forms of exercise are best maintaining mobility in this podcast episode, featuring geriatric physical therapist Tiffany Shubert: 052 – Maintaining Mobility & Preventing Falls in Aging: Myths & Truths.

4. Get your hearing checked and use hearing aids if needed

All indicators suggest that maintaining one’s hearing is really important to maintaining the best possible cognition in later life.

That’s because adequate hearing is important for socializing and other activities that keep us cognitively engaged and healthy.

So identifying and treating hearing loss has been identified as an important approach for delaying cognitive decline in older adults.

If you’re not sure how your hearing is doing, you can use the handy Hearing Number app from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to check your hearing.

Or, talk to your health provider, especially if you or your family members have had any concerns about your hearing.

5. Protect your brain — and your balance — by avoiding medications known to dampen brain function.

Proper attention to medications is one of the top three actions recommended by National Academies of Medicine, to protect cognitive health while aging.

(For more on how cognition changes with aging, see: 6 Ways that Memory & Thinking Change with Normal Aging & What to Do About This.)

That’s because research has linked such medications to worse cognitive function, and sometimes to the acceleration of cognitive decline.

Plus, most medications that are bad for the brain are also bad for balance. So there is a double benefit in spotting and minimizing these drugs.

And medications that affect the brain are more common than you might think: did you know that diphenhydramine (brand name Benadryl) slows brain function and might be associated with Alzheimer’s?

That’s because Benadryl, like MANY commonly used drugs, is quite anticholinergic. These medications really should come with a memory warning for older adults! But since they don’t, I’ve written about them here, or you can watch the video below to learn to spot the ones older adults use the most often.

For more proven strategies on maintaining brain health, see How to Promote Brain Health.

6. Deprescribe if possible! Review all medications and identify those that may be potentially inappropriate or unnecessary. 

According to the CDC, every year 600,000 older adults visit the emergency room due to medication problems. Research has also found that “inappropriate prescribing” of drugs is very common.

Although geriatricians especially worry about medications that affect the brain and balance, older adults are also often harmed by blood-thinners, medication for blood pressure, insulin and other medications that lower blood sugar, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers (e.g. ibuprofen and naproxen).

To avoid excess risk or harm from medications, it’s best to periodically review the purpose and dosing of all medications. You will need to work with a doctor or pharmacist to do this, but it’s good to do a little homework beforehand. This helps ensure that nothing important falls through the cracks, and will help you better understand the treatment of your health conditions.

Learn a five-step process you can use here: How to Review Medications for Safety & Appropriateness in Aging.

You can also learn more about the most important medications to consider deprescribing here: Deprescribing: How to Be on Less Medication for Healthier Aging.

7. Use a home blood pressure monitor (if you’re on blood pressure medication)

High blood pressure is one of the most common conditions among older adults, but it’s surprisingly easy for it to be either over-treated (which can lead to falls) or under-treated (which can lead to strokes and heart problems).

Experts have long recommended that patients and doctors use home-based blood pressure measurements to guide care, because these are often more accurate than office-based measurements.

So if you haven’t already gotten in the habit of using a home blood pressure monitor, do it this year!

I recommend checking your BP at home at least once a month. It’s also a good idea to check it more often if you’ve recently had a change in BP medications.

You can learn more about what to do here: 6 Steps to Better High Blood Pressure Treatment for Older Adults. 

8. Start — or update — your personal health record

A personal health record is a way for you to keep your own copies of your own essential health information. This can be done with a paper file folder at home, or by keeping digital copies on your computer, or even by using a special service.

All your health information — which often comes from various doctors and clinics — should be kept in a single location that you control. (So accessing your records via your clinic’s patient portal is not the same thing as maintaining a personal health record.)

Personal health records can make it much easier for an older adult to quickly get the right care in the event of an emergency, a second opinion, or a change in doctors.

At a minimum, aim to get copies of all lab results and radiology results from the past two years.

For more on how to set up and maintain a personal health record, see this article: How to Use a Personal Health Record to Improve an Older Person’s Healthcare.

9. Make sure you’ve had the (newer) shingles vaccine

Did you know? Not only is the newer shingles vaccine Shingrix very good at preventing shingles, but exciting research suggests that it also reduces the risk of dementia and of cardiovascular disease.

That’s because shingles is not just a very painful rash; a bad case of shingles also causes inflammation throughout the body, and that can affect the brain and the health of blood vessels.

Shingles is also worth avoiding because in some people, it can become an ongoing chronic pain condition.

Surveys find that only about 35% of older adults have been vaccinated against shingles. If you haven’t yet had your Shingrix vaccination, make this the year you get it.

Enough about dutifully checking one’s health & planning ahead! Here are the fun suggestions:

10. Socialize, contribute, and nourish your soul. 

Research has confirmed what many already knew: relationships and contributing to the world are key to maintaining well-being while aging.

So reach out to others as often as you can. Invite a friend for a walk, or a cup of tea. Call your family members to say hello and ask how they are doing. Maintain connections to those you know and care about. And if you don’t have many connections, look for ways to meet people.

It’s also important to keep engaging in those activities that feel nourishing to one’s soul. Sometimes these involve other people, but they might also be things you do just for your own engagement and pleasure.

So this year, be sure to take stock of how much time you spend with others. If you realize you often feel isolated or lonely, find ways to connect more with others. You can also consider calling the Friendship Line, a special non-profit service dedicated to supporting lonely older adults.

It’s also good to consider ways to contribute. Volunteering can be an excellent way to connect while bringing purpose to one’s life, but sometimes part-time work or leadership engagements are an option too. CoGenerate.org (formerly Encore.org) is a wonderful organization helping people 50+ to contribute and collaborate with people of all ages.

And then take some time to think what activities bring you contentment and well-being. If you aren’t doing such activities at least a few times a week, ask yourself why. And then see what can be done about the whys.

Bonus idea: Brainstorm a life wishlist. Then go and do at least one thing on the list.

I was really touched a few years ago by the story of “Miss Norma,” who at age 90 left her long-time home to spend a year road-tripping with family.

Her story spoke to me of how it’s almost never too late to do something you’ve always wanted to do, or wished you could do.

In a similar vein, in 2019 and 2020 we had the story of Grandma Joy, who traveled the National Parks with her grandson.

So this year, I hope you’ll make a list of things you still want to do in your life. It could be a special trip, perhaps planned for a time of year when eating and socializing can happen outside. Or it could be something like reconciling with a family member, taking up a new hobby, or doing something else you’ve thought you’d love to do “someday.”

Write these down. Talk to family or friends about them.

And then make sure to do at least one.

Best wishes for the coming year!