The Mind/Body problem of age

(I suspect no-one will read this today —November 6th. I drafted this last week and hadn't realized posting today was the morning after the US election...not good timing, I know.)

When I started writing a newsletter called “Better With Age,” the title was based on a somewhat subjective observation: life seems to improve as you get older. This perception is supported by recent data on happiness, such as the disappearing U-curve of happiness.

Young bodies and older minds both have advantage.

While older people clearly have the edge emotionally, younger people have a physical advantage. During the Olympics, I shared some mental advantages, like experience and technique, that give older athletes a competitive edge. This just goes to show it’s not about choosing either mind or body—success often depends on the combination of both.

The wellness economy seems biased towards young people's needs.

This is why the wellness economy surprises me. When you look at its composition, there’s a strong emphasis on physical wellness, yet relatively little focus on mental wellness. The graphic below highlights the major sectors of the global wellness economy. Notice how small the mental wellness sector is—only $181 billion, a little over 3% of the total.

Older minds have more potential than aging bodies

Yet, our mental wellbeing is one of our greatest assets as we age. While our bodies might be in decline, our minds, creativity, experience, and knowledge are significant strengths. Studies on older workers, especially in creative industries, show they are invaluable due to their ability to find solutions faster, make fewer mistakes, and hold knowledge that younger employees may lack. This business value is further enhanced by older employees' ‘generativity’—the desire to leave things better for future generations. They contribute by formalizing knowledge, providing training, offering feedback, and mentoring. Despite all of this business value from knowledge and experience, mental wellness support programs for employees are nowhere near as common as those focused on physical wellness, like healthcare and employee wellness programs.

What are the products and services for mind maintenance?

The potential for growth and profit in mental wellness is vast, especially from the perspective of the 50+ audience. Almost all older people participate in some regimen to maximize physical wellness—whether it’s going to doctors for physical check ups..going to dentists… the hair dresser… the beauty parlor... the nail salon… plastic surgeon… the tennis pro… the dietician… the masseuse… the personal trainer…the list for how we maintain ourselves physically is exhaustive. But what do we do for our most valuable and differentiating assets—our wise and learned minds?

Mental wellness maintenance isn’t something most of us were taught in school, unlike physical education which was mandated. There aren’t mind gyms or mental fitness classes on every corner. We have tools to measure our physical exercise, our step and our heart rate but not our ideas, our memories and our learning. We obsess about unhealthy foods —like sugars, fats, carbs, and salt—but we aren’t taught how to maintain or protect our mental capacities through diet and mental exercise regimes.

The missed opportunity of cognitive longevity

In some ways, this edition of the newsletter is a challenge to wellness brands to consider how much larger “wellness” could be if they helped older Americans realize the true value of their minds: intellect, memories, creativity, experience, and knowledge. Why isn’t there as much business opportunity in providing products and services that support the aging population in maintaining their most valuable asset through their new found longevity?

Here are some ideas for how existing wellness brands might seize this missed opportunity:

• Cognitive assessments alongside physical assessments: Brands that focus on physical wellness are natural partners for cognitive longevity. Brands like Nike could provide tools to support not just physical strength but also mental performance. Gyms like Equinox might offer cognitive assessments alongside physical ones. Nutrition advisors could give guidance on mental performance alongside physical well-being recommendations.
• Expand supplement lines for cognitive function: Brands known for nutritional supplements should offer products targeted at specific cognitive functions, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach (looking at you, Silver Centrum). Consider products for memory enhancement, focus, sleep, creativity, learning, mindfulness, mood enhancement, trauma support, and therapy.
• Develop digital tools for cognitive health: Tools could include assessments, skill-building, mental exercises, virtual therapy, mood monitoring, and employee performance support, as well as resources for ADHD, PTSD, and mentoring or mind coaching.
• Launch meal prep and delivery services for optimized mental health: The food delivery and subscription meal box industries largely focus on healthy eating for physical outcomes, but they could also consider mental outcomes. Imagine offerings like “Focus Breakfasts,” “Sleepwell Suppers,” “Brain Fuel” snacks, and “Longevity Diets,” in addition to MIND diets.
• Create mind-enhancing travel experiences: Travel can expand the mind, and many believe it improves mental well-being. However, many travel upgrades are geared toward physical comfort rather than mental enrichment. Travel companies, airlines, hotels, and cruise lines could explore services that boost brain health, cultural intelligence, creativity, social well-being, and memory.