Learn Hardcore German: Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können und bleiben dabei optimistisch. - We talk about how we can improve our quality of life and stay optimistic while doing so.

Main clause word order (verb in 2nd position):
- Wir können unsere Lebensqualität verbessern.
Subordinate clause word order (finite verb at the end):
- …, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können.

So:

wir können verbessern → main clause structure
wir … verbessern können → subordinate clause structure introduced by wie

Because your part wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können is a subordinate clause explaining how we improve our quality of life, the finite verb können goes to the end.

What exactly does darüber mean here, and why not just wir sprechen über das?

Darüber is a pronominal adverb: da + über. It roughly means “about that / about this”.

In this pattern:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie …
literally: We talk about that, how …

Darüber refers forward to the wie-clause, which explains what the “that” is:

We talk about that – namely, how we can improve our quality of life.

You could say:

Wir sprechen über das, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können.

but it sounds clumsy and less natural. The standard idiomatic structure in German is:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie …
Er freut sich darüber, dass …
Sie denkt darüber nach, ob …

So darüber + Nebensatz is the typical pattern, more natural than über das + Nebensatz.

Why is there a comma before wie?

The comma is required because wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können is a subordinate clause.

In German, subordinate clauses introduced by words like dass, weil, ob, wenn, wie are usually separated from the main clause by commas:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können.
Er erklärt, wie das funktioniert.
Sie fragte, ob er kommt.

So the comma marks the start of the subordinate clause introduced by wie.

Why is there no comma after können in this sentence? Could we write one?

Both variants are grammatically acceptable:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können und bleiben dabei optimistisch.
Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können, und bleiben dabei optimistisch.

What is happening?

The part wie wir … verbessern können is a subordinate clause.
The verbs sprechen and bleiben belong to two coordinated main-clause predicates sharing the same subject wir:
- Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir … können.
- (Wir) bleiben dabei optimistisch.

According to modern German punctuation rules, the comma before “und” between two main clauses is optional.
In our sentence, the comma that closes the subordinate clause falls exactly at that optional position. So:

You may omit it → more informal/modern.
You may include it → many people find this clearer:
Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können, und bleiben dabei optimistisch.

For learners, using the second comma is often helpful to see where the subordinate clause ends.

What does wie mean here, and why is it wie and not dass?

Here wie means “how” in the sense of “in what way / by which means”.

…, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können
→ … how we can improve our quality of life.

Compare:

Ich erkläre dir, wie das funktioniert.
I explain to you how that works.

You cannot use dass here, because dass introduces a content clause (that-clause) that states that something is the case, not how it works:

…, dass wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können
→ … that we can improve our quality of life. (different meaning)

So:

wie → asks about the manner / way (how).
dass → introduces a statement (that something is true).

Why isn’t wir repeated before bleiben? Why not … wie wir … verbessern können und wir bleiben dabei optimistisch?

German often omits the repeated subject when two main clauses share the same subject and are joined by und or oder.

Full version:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können, und wir bleiben dabei optimistisch.

Natural, shortened version:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können und bleiben dabei optimistisch.

This is similar to English:

We talk about how we can improve our quality of life and (we) remain optimistic.

The subject wir is understood for bleiben, so it doesn’t need to be repeated.

What does dabei add in bleiben dabei optimistisch? Why not just bleiben optimistisch?

Dabei literally means “in the process / while doing so / in that situation”.

Wir bleiben dabei optimistisch
→ We remain optimistic while doing that / as we do so.

It links the second part of the sentence back to the action of speaking about how to improve our quality of life. Without dabei:

… und bleiben optimistisch.
→ We stay optimistic (in general) — the connection to the first activity is weaker.

With dabei, it emphasizes that even during this discussion about improving quality of life, we remain optimistic, instead of becoming negative or pessimistic.

Why is it unsere Lebensqualität and not some other case? What case is this?

Unsere Lebensqualität is in the accusative case, because it is the direct object of the verb verbessern (to improve).

Verb: verbessern – to improve (something)
Object: unsere Lebensqualität – our quality of life

Structure:

wir (subject, nominative)
unsere Lebensqualität (direct object, accusative)
verbessern (verb)

You could paraphrase the inner clause as:

Wir verbessern unsere Lebensqualität.
(subject: wir, verb: verbessern, accusative object: unsere Lebensqualität)

That same structure is kept inside the subordinate clause:

…, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können.

Why is Lebensqualität written as one word and capitalized?

Two points:

Capitalization:
In German, all nouns are capitalized.
Lebensqualität is a noun, so it must start with a capital letter.
One word (compound noun):
German often combines words into one long compound noun:
- das Leben (life) + die Qualität (quality)
  → die Lebensqualität (quality of life)

Instead of writing something like Qualität des Lebens, German prefers a single compound noun whenever possible. So Lebensqualität as one word is normal and correct.

Why is a modal verb können used? What is the difference between wir verbessern and wir können verbessern here?

Können expresses ability, possibility, or feasibility.

Compare:

Wir verbessern unsere Lebensqualität.
→ We (actually) improve our quality of life. (statement of fact/action)
Wir können unsere Lebensqualität verbessern.
→ We can / are able to / have the possibility to improve our quality of life.

In the sentence:

…, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können …

the focus is on what is possible / what options we have, not on what we are already doing. We are talking about ways and possibilities to improve our quality of life.

Could we also say … und dabei optimistisch bleiben instead of … und bleiben dabei optimistisch? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could say:

Wir sprechen darüber, wie wir unsere Lebensqualität verbessern können und dabei optimistisch bleiben.

This version sounds slightly more “compact” and typical when you think of “improve X and stay optimistic” as one combined idea. In that variant:

optimistisch bleiben is a clear unit.

In the original:

… und bleiben dabei optimistisch.

the focus is more on the verb bleiben, with dabei placed closer to it. Both are correct and natural; the difference is subtle and mostly about rhythm and emphasis, not about grammar.

Does the present tense here refer only to now, or can it also include the future?

German Präsens (present tense) can refer to:

Right now / regularly
- Wir sprechen darüber …
  → We are (now / generally) talking about it.
The near future, if it is clear from context:
- Morgen sprechen wir darüber.
  → We will talk about it tomorrow.

In your sentence, it most naturally describes something that is happening now or regularly:

We (now / generally) talk about how we can improve our quality of life and (in doing so) remain optimistic.

It could also cover repeated or habitual discussions, not just a single moment.