The human lifespan is the maximum number of years an individual from the human species can live based on observed examples. Though this definition of lifespan may seem simple enough, it is often confused with other common concepts in the study of theaging, life, and death of living organisms.
In order to better understand the human lifespan, let’s dive a little deeper into the concept and its important distinctions from other commonly used terms.
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Human Life Span vs. Human Life Expectancy
The termlifespanis most commonly confused with another important concept:life expectancy. While both terms relate to the number of living years, they actually define very different concepts.
What Is the Human Life Span?
Though there have certainly been claims of longer lives, none of the claims were acceptably documented and verified.
Closing the Gap Between Life Expectancy and Life Span
In 2019, the United States' average life expectancy was around 79 years, which is still forty-four years younger than the human lifespan.U.S. life expectancy dipped with the COVID-19 pandemic and was 76.4 in 2021 and 77.5 in 2022.
So how do we close that gap and elongate our lives? There will always be factors that are out of our individual control like our inherited genes, but we shouldn’t discount the impact of those that we can control. It is generally understood that closing the gap between life expectancy and lifespan can be done through healthier living, less exposure to toxins, the prevention of chronic illnesses, and a little bit of luck.
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Wilhelm P.Jeanne Calment: Validation of the Duration of Her Life. Validation of Exceptional Longevity. Odense University Press. ISBN 87-7838-466-4
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Mortality in the United States, 2022.
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