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One good question for those heading toward retirement is: Is it possible to delay ageing? Psychologist Julian Melgosa, in Enjoy Life, suggests there is and he lists six ways that he believes will help in this quest.

1. Attitude

Live more years by developing a positive attitude and learning to improve your emotional state. And a positive attitude to ageing is also important. Research on some 1100 people in Oxford, Ohio—begun in 1975 and revisited in 1999—showed that people with a positive attitude to ageing lived 7.6 years longer. That’s a huge difference.

2. Diet

There’s a strong relationship between diet and wellbeing. Eat moderately, healthfully and in a balanced form. Your body will thank you.

Unfortunately, the temptation is to overindulge, simply because we can. And that can be habit-forming.

3. Relationships

Developing friendships and maintaining healthy relationships helps to give meaning to life and aids in strengthening mental health. This should be broader than family relationships—it’s about developing social networks.

4. Activity

This is about engaging in as much physical and mental activity as possible. And to plan it so you’re regularly involved in physical and mental exercise—to keep your edge.

A lack of this kind of activity quickly leads to a loss of strength—physically and mentally.

5. Natural environment

Try to live in as natural an environment as possible. This can prove difficult in our cities, but try to avoid contaminated water, air, as well as noise. Seek out peaceful places. 

6. Spirituality

In Melgosa’s words, ‘Cultivate the highest aspects of the spirit, in the way that you understand it.’ This does help bring meaning to life.

The six individually are important—and life-enhancing. Together they can be life changing and, perhaps, even life lengthening.

Bruce Manners: the author of Retirement Ready?, Refusing to Retire, and founder of RetireNotes.com