Is Aging Malleable? Effect of Stress On How Long You Live.
Is "Benjamin Buttoning" Scientifically Possible?
The biological age of organisms is thought to steadily increase over the life course, but it is now clear that biological age is not indelibly linked to chronological age.
Individuals can be biologically older or younger than their chronological age implies.
Don’t let numbers fool you.
40 years of age for one person is a galaxy of difference for another.
Increasing evidence in animal models and humans indicates that biological age can be influenced by disease, drug treatment, lifestyle changes, and environmental exposures, among other factors.
And, especially stress.
If you get really stressed out, examples might be that you are diagnosed with cancer, you get a notice in the mail of an IRS audit, a child is shot, you are mugged, or you are taking boards for college, in these types of circumstances, your chronological age immediately lengthens.
You are immediately physiologically… older.
Rapidly.
The biological age of humans and mice undergoes rapid increases in response to diverse forms of stress.
But there is a God.
All this is rapidly reversed following “recovery” from stress.
These changes occur over relatively short periods of days or months, according to multiple independent epigenetic aging clocks.
The goal then becomes, if severely stressed, get out of it as soon as you can.
But of course, try not to get stressed trying to de-stress.
Life is amazing but ironic, Always.
Of course, sustained stress causes sustained physiologic aging.
Don’t stay, if possible, velcroed to stress.
"This finding of fluid, fluctuating, malleable age challenges the longstanding conception of a unidirectional upward trajectory of biological age over the life course," says co-senior study author James White of Duke University School of Medicine.
"Previous reports have hinted at the possibility of short-term fluctuations in biological age, but the question of whether such changes are reversible has, until now, remained unexplored."
This testing was done through “methylation clock” changes, in both animal and human experiments.
The results revealed that biological age may increase (your physiology may suddenly be that of an OLDER version of you) over relatively short periods - in response to stress.
But, thank goodness, this increase is transient and trends back toward baseline following “recovery” from stress.
But you gotta recover from that stress!
This has now been looked at in every aging which way: epigenetically, transcriptomically, and metabolically.
Look at these huge stressors: major surgery, pregnancy, and severe Covid. Huge stressors.
As predicted, during the above stressful periods, transient changes in biological age occurred. During major surgery, pregnancy, and severe COVID-19 in humans or mice, the bodies of the humans and animals suddenly became physiologically OLDER.
For example, trauma patients experienced a strong and rapid increase in biological age following emergency surgery.
Moms age rapidly while pregnant.
Folks with severe Covid age rapidly, too.
Nevertheless, this increase in aging, was reversed, and biological age was restored back to baseline, in the days following the surgery.
Similarly, pregnant subjects experienced postpartum recovery of biological age at varying rates and magnitudes.
Same with severe Covid patients. But only if they recover.
These findings imply that severe stress increases premature mortality, at least in part, by increasing biological age.
This immediately suggests that premature mortality may be decreased, too.
We can become younger than our years.
By enhancing the ability to recover from stress!
So one woman in her mid 70’s is a totally different “older” person than another woman in her 70’s. And this physiologic truth holds for younger folks, too. One person can be an older 35-year-old or a younger 35-year-old, depending upon their skills to rebound from stressors.
Learning how to rebound fast and thoroughly from huge stressors, Vitamin R = resilience, is an important determinant of successful aging and longevity.
What do you do in your life to develop resilience, so that if stressed, you rebound faster than not?
How you live much of the time, dictates your rebound from stress, in stressful times.
Knowledge is power.
Get buffed.
Get resilient.
Stay younger, longer.
Dr. B (Trying to Benjamin Button as much as I can, too)
Reference:
Biological age is increased by stress and restored upon recovery. Cell Metabolism, 2023; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.03.015
My article is titled
How does salt restriction lead to heart dis-ease and fear based reactionary thinking?
Hyponatremia is an emergency and this puts the adrenals in charge.
Salt addition/salt + water relieves dehydration and turns off the adrenals and all the adrenocortical hormones.
Stress is aided with the addition of salt.
Healing begins with salt + water.
Dementia is overly represented in women, why?
Women have greater salt requirements because their reproductive organs are moisture reservoirs.
Chronic dehydration or low salt = chronic adrenal control which causes either adrenal fatigue or hyperplasia.
Adrenal hyperplasia = salt sensitives
All symptoms of dehydration/hyponatremia should be taught as first aid
A headache is not a signal to take a Panadol.
It’s a brain aching from the receding tide of saline moisture.
Brain fog/confusion/memory loss indicate dehydration/hyponatremia.