6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine for a Healthier Retirement

Trevor interviews Chad Royster, a nurse practitioner at UNC Rex Hospital, to discuss how lifestyle medicine can prevent, slow, and even reverse the chronic conditions that threaten independence in retirement. Royster outlines the six pillars of lifestyle medicine (nutrition, physical activity, avoidance of risky substances, sleep, stress management, and social connection), explains why nutrition matters most and why breakfast is the easiest place to start, and makes the case that your genes are not your destiny. He also connects a sense of purpose to longevity through lessons from the world's blue zones. Shifting to financial readiness, Lawson analyzes Fidelity's latest retiree health cost estimate, which shows a 7.5% jump in projected lifetime healthcare expenses, with the average 65-year-old retiring in 2026 now needing $185,500 (and couples $371,000). That makes planning for healthcare costs within a retirement income plan more important than ever.