Peakspan: A Proposed Way to Track Function Across Aging
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Peakspan is a proposed framework for tracking how long an individual function remains within 90 percent of its personal peak. In this clip from Dr. Rhonda Patrick's appearance on The Diary Of A CEO, she applies the concept across cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle, bone, immunity, reproduction, and cognition. Each domain follows its own trajectory, and different cognitive abilities can reach their highest levels at different stages of adulthood. [1] [2]
Regular exercise can help preserve physical and cognitive function with age. Aerobic training supports cardiorespiratory fitness and brain health, while resistance and weight-bearing exercise support strength and bone health. In a randomized trial of older adults, one year of aerobic exercise increased hippocampal volume and improved spatial memory, providing human evidence that physical activity can support brain plasticity. [3]
Long-term training can also produce meaningful cardiovascular adaptations. Two years of progressive exercise improved cardiorespiratory fitness and reduced left-ventricular stiffness in previously sedentary middle-aged adults. Continued physical, social, and intellectual engagement offers a practical way to support multiple parts of peakspan throughout later life, while the framework helps people think about function one domain at a time. [4]
This clip is excerpted, with permission, from Dr. Rhonda Patrick's appearance on The Diary Of A CEO. Thank you to The Diary Of A CEO for allowing us to share it.
- ^ Zhavoronkov A; Ying K; Wilczok D (2026). Peakspan: Defining, Quantifying and Extending the Boundaries of Peak Productive Lifespan. Aging Dis , .
- ^ 10.1177/0956797614567339
- ^ 10.1073/pnas.1015950108
- ^ 10.1161/circulationaha.117.030617
Steven Bartlett: What is peakspan? I have heard of lifespan and healthspan, but not peakspan.
Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Peakspan is a new proposed framework. It asks how long a chosen function remains within 90 percent of its personal maximum. The 90-percent cutoff is an author-defined threshold. It is not a validated biological cutoff or a single clinical aging test.
The framework applies separately to domains such as cardiorespiratory fitness, muscle, bone, immunity, reproduction, and cognition. It does not produce one validated whole-person peakspan score.
The paper combines prior research from different measures and populations. Many physical capacities are highest in early adulthood, while some knowledge-based cognitive abilities can remain stable or improve into midlife. Exact peak ages and rates of decline vary by function, sex, genetics, training, education, health, and measurement method.
Exercise, resistance training, adequate protein, sleep, and continued learning can support function with age. These practices do not prove that every person can remain above 90 percent of a prior peak.
Aerobic exercise supports brain health and can improve selected cognitive outcomes. Exercise often raises peripheral BDNF, but blood BDNF is not direct proof that new neurons grew in the living human brain.
Continued learning and mentally engaging activity are reasonable parts of healthy aging. Observational studies of bilingualism sometimes report later Alzheimer symptoms, but language learning has not been shown to rapidly reduce Alzheimer incidence. No specific number of podcast hours is a proven preventive dose.
Progressive resistance and weight-bearing exercise help preserve strength and hip bone density. Adequate protein supports training adaptation. Compound lifts are examples, not requirements, and they need suitable technique and loading.
Some black recycled plastics contain flame retardants. Evidence does not show that storing black plastic in a refrigerator lowers testosterone or muscle gain.
Omega-3 fatty acids have biological roles in the brain, but supplementation has not consistently prevented cognitive decline or dementia in well-nourished adults. Urolithin A trials show early biomarker and selected muscle signals, but do not reliably establish added fitness benefit beyond exercise.
Two years of structured training improved fitness and left-ventricular stiffness in selected sedentary middle-aged adults. The “20 years younger” phrase is an analogy, not measured biological-age reversal.
Retirement itself does not cause dementia. Staying physically, socially, and mentally active is sensible. Prolonged passive television viewing is associated with poorer cognitive outcomes, but it has not been shown to cause dementia.
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