Simple Secrets to a Healthier Life

You can pack a lot of wisdom into a few words. We spoke with doctors and other experts and offered them a challenge: Create a wellness mantra — a line or two that encapsulates a core truth about physical and mental health. Here are their words to live by.

AGING IS A GOOD THING. Getting older makes you wiser, more resilient, more accepting and happier. There will be changes and challenges. Focus on what you can do — not what you can’t.

— Dr. Alison Moore, director of the Stein Institute for Research on Aging and Center for Healthy Aging

THE WAY TO HEALTH IS THROUGH THE GUT. The gut talks to the brain and to the immune system, the two most important organ systems for maintaining our health and preventing age-related diseases. It turns out that the gut is center stage.

— Dr. Eric Topol, founder and director of Scripps Research Translational Institute

SLEEP IS IMPORTANT, BUT NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO LOSE SLEEP OVER. Sleep affects almost every aspect of our mental and physical health. But some people get so anxious about it that bedtime becomes a battleground. When we fixate less on sleep, and find professional help if needed, often it improves.

— Dr. Sujay Kansagra, pediatric sleep specialist at Duke University Medical Center

PARENT LESS, PLAY MORE. If your kid isn’t asking for help, leave them alone! Spend less time managing their feelings — especially unpleasant ones — and more time sharing things that you love. Not everything needs to be a learning experience.

— Carla Naumburg, clinical social worker and the author of “How to Stop Losing Your Sh*t With Your Kids”

MENTAL FITNESS IS A LOT LIKE PHYSICAL FITNESS. Figure out which exercises work best for you. There are dozens of tools, such as journaling, talking to a trusted adviser, contemplating the vastness of nature and so many more. Different combinations help different people in different situations.

— Ethan Kross, author of “Shift: Managing Your Emotions — So They Don’t Manage You”

ULTRAPROCESSED FOODS AREN’T REALLY FOOD. They are designed to taste good. That misses the point of why we eat, which is nutrition.

— Dr. Andrew T. Chan, chief of the Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital

WELLNESS ISN’T THE SAME AS NOT BEING SICK. Our well-being is kaleidoscopic, including not just physical and emotional health, but also social, financial, intellectual and other dimensions. You need to balance all of them to thrive and flourish.

— Dr. Jessi Gold, psychiatrist and chief wellness officer at the University of Tennessee System