Longevity is a trend, a rallying cry, and a commercial success story. Around the world, spa medicine is embracing the movement.

Ray Kurzweil is 76 years old and heads the “Technical Development” division at Google. Every day, he takes 80 pills, “plus a few infusions,” as he revealed on the podcast of American actor and comedian Seth Rogen. The reason is not illness. Kurzweil — whose name in this context sounds as though it were borrowed from a comic book — is a devoted advocate and, through his non-fiction writing, one of the driving forces behind the longevity trend that has boomed since the pandemic years.

What longevity means can be explained in a single phrase. A friend of mine — incidentally a young woman of boundless energy and vitality — persistently mispronounces the term due to a misunderstanding, yet somehow captures its essence perfectly: “long-livity.”

But this futuristic trend is about more than the dream of a long and healthy life. After all, Father Kneipp and diet pioneer F. X. Mayr pursued similar ambitions with their cures more than a century ago, just as the ancient Romans did with their spas and Indian Ayurveda practitioners have done for thousands of years. Kurzweil and other proponents of longevity seek something greater. They aim to turn back time — at least for the individual, if not for humanity as a whole, then at least for themselves.

Kurzweil explains it, somewhat simplified, like this: those who optimize their bodies today — using every tool modern medicine and highly sophisticated nutrition plans can offer — will age more slowly. In the span of one year, they might age not twelve months, but perhaps only eleven. And because scientific advances in this field are progressing exponentially, Kurzweil believes that in the not-too-distant future, the process may even be reversed entirely. Instead of aging by two or three months within a year, people may ultimately become progressively younger.

Despite all mathematical projections, this still belongs to the realm of science fiction. Longevity medicine is, one might say, still in its infancy. Yet global interest in the possibilities of this medical discipline continues to grow — as does the range of physicians specializing in it.

Blood and biomarker analyses, DNA risk assessments, glucose monitoring, highly individualized fitness and nutrition plans, dietary supplements, cryotherapy and red-light therapy, infusions, and cold chambers all form part of the arsenal in the pursuit of ultimate agelessness.

Across the globe, new spa clinics offering such treatments are currently emerging. The basic price for a one-week stay generally begins at around €10,000. In doing so, an old saying becomes reality: health is humanity’s most valuable asset. The wellness industry is evolving accordingly. Massages and facials are no longer all it has to offer.

At its 2024 congress, the Global Wellness Institute predicted that the “spa industry” — as the institute rather unromantically refers to the sector — will continue to grow by more than eight percent annually through 2027. Existing spas, too, are increasingly incorporating longevity concepts into their programs.

Yet two aspects of this development remain surprisingly underdiscussed. In countries such as Germany, where robust healthcare systems exist and even public health insurance providers support many preventive examinations, the starting point for longevity medicine differs significantly from that in other parts of the world. One thing, however, remains universally true: during the hours I spend attached to an IV delivering a vitamin cocktail, or counting out my 80 capsules and tablets, I am arguably experiencing less of life — even if over a longer period of time.

SUSANNE HERMANSKI