Intensive training can slow aging for almost 10 years

Who among us would not want to live forever, or at least for a very long time? It turns out that some forms of life are theoretically capable of this, because they have the opportunity to restore their cells. Unfortunately, this is beyond the capabilities of man.

A new study brings our dreams of immortality closer to reality. According to an article in the journal Preventive Medicine, a team from the University of Brigham Young discovered a rather strange way to slow down aging.

Actual and biological age of a person

The age of a person, in fact, is determined by how many years he lived, which is fairly fair, but our cells do not necessarily age in the same way. If a person leads an unhealthy lifestyle, the condition of his cells worsens faster compared to the one that follows the recommendations of doctors, prefers healthy food, does sports and does not have any bad habits, for example, refuses alcohol and cigarettes. Unfortunately, this is true, although it may not like everyone.

Given this, it is unlikely for some people will come as a surprise to the results of a new study, according to which physical exercises allow our cells to age much more slowly than they could. In particular, adults who perform high intensity exercises, for example, jogging 30-40 minutes for five days a week, slow the aging of their cells by nine years.

Telomeres as an indicator of cell aging

This effect is associated with the telomeres of our cells - proteins located at each end of the chromosomes. Each time during cell division the number of these proteins is reduced. And the more they contract, the more we age.

In the new study, the researchers analyzed the data of 5,823 adult subjects who participated in the examination of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to a number of other indicators, researchers recorded the length of the telomeres of all participants, as well as data on their lifestyle.

Scientists have found that short telomeres - and, therefore, the greatest signs of cellular aging - were in those people who led a sedentary lifestyle. In people who preferred intensive activity, the longest and youngest telomeres were found.

Intensive workouts

Unfortunately, significant differences should be expected only if you are maintaining a fairly serious level of physical activity. If you think that you can slow down aging by almost 10 years due to quick shopping or even short cycling, forget about it: the scientists did not find any significant differences in the length of telomeres between people with low and moderate intensity of physical exertion and those that Do not want to do anything at all.

Although the mechanism of telomere retention is unknown to scientists, they suggest that exercises suppress inflammation and chemical imbalances that can harm these proteins.

What conclusion can we draw? If you want to further delay your old age, you have to sweat.