The secret to healthy ageing isn’t keeping busy. It’s finding your ‘rhythm’
Building sustained habits over time – periods of meaningful challenge, followed by intentional rest – matters more than a full calendar.
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When our cells experience a healthy amount of challenge followed by sufficient recovery time, they grow stronger, the writers say.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Lia Troeung and Sumithra Devi Suppiah
Priya is a classic go-getter at the age of 68. Even in retirement, she keeps herself constantly occupied with housework, errands, dancing classes, volunteering and even an online course. Her children joke that she can’t “keep still”.
Then there’s her good friend, Jason. At 70, he prefers a slower rhythm: long naps, reading, gardening and occasional coffee dates. He passes his days retreating from the world, enjoying a more measured pace – a well-earned reward after decades of work.
