How To Reduce Your Biological Age

Have you ever observed two people who have spent the same number of years on this earth, but who look (and likely feel) years apart?

If so, then you’ve probably recognized that the aging process can occur at different rates for different people, and that rate can be greatly influenced by lifestyle choices.

This points to the idea of chronological age (how old we?are) versus biological age (how old?our bodies function).

What is Chronological Age?

Chronological age is the number of years you have been alive - When you blow out the candles on your birthday cake, you’re celebrating your chronological age. Your chronological age cannot be changed.

What is Biological Age?

Biological age describes the age that your body behaves and feels. Unlike chronological age, biological age is malleable and varies from person to person, depending on how healthy they are.

Lifespan vs. Healthspan

Historically, scientists used chronological age and lifespan as primary measures of a population’s health - the longer people lived chronologically, the higher the average lifespan, and the healthier that population was considered to be.

However, chronological age and lifespan bear no indication on the health of your body during the years that you live and are therefore not informative for a person’s wellbeing.

This is why the term “healthspan” has become increasingly important in healthcare, as it describes the number of years that you are healthy and free from age-related diseases rather than just the number of years that you’re alive.

For example, someone could live until they are 80 years old, making their lifespan 80, but they could have lived the last 20 years of their life experiencing chronic illness, making their healthspan only 60 years.

HOW CAN YOU REVERSE YOUR BIOLOGICAL AGE?

It turns out that reversing biological age doesn’t necessarily require a strict drug regimen or surgery, and can in fact be reached through relatively simple lifestyle changes.

In fact, since lifestyle factors impact how your genes are ultimately expressed,?your habits actually impact your biological age more than even your genes do. The following are a few steps you can take to decrease your biological age:

• Restrict your calories.?Restricting calories and adhering to a healthy diet is one of the most widely proven ways to reduce biological age. Calorie restriction can improve all age-related risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.
• Get adequate?sleep?(7-9 hours).?Sleep deprivation is one of the quickest ways to speed up biological aging. Obtaining an adequate amount of sleep every night, on the other hand, slows the onset of physical aging, improves mental health, and reduces the risk for chronic disease. In fact, according to world-renowned neuroscientist, Matthew Walker, the correlation between sleep and longevity is simple - “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your lifespan.”
• Exercise regularly. In general, exercise also boosts blood flow, improving the cardiovascular system and nutrient delivery throughout the body. Furthermore, low muscle mass is associated with poorer health, from a longer stay in hospital, to more severe complications, to poorer physical function
• Consume antioxidants.?Studies evaluating the role of antioxidants show that they are able to help counter the external factors that encourage the aging process, like free radicals and oxidative stress. Consuming foods high in antioxidants reduces oxidative stress on cells and prevents cellular destruction. Green leafy vegetables and colorful fruit are all rich in antioxidants and can slow biological aging.
• Maintain a healthy microbiome.?A healthy microbiome boosts the immune system and prevents inflammation, leading to a younger biological age. For a healthy microbiome, the National Institute on Aging recommends avoiding sugars and processed foods. Consume a well-balanced diet that includes fermented foods like yogurt and kombucha.
• Manage your stress levels.? Unknown to most, stress causes damage to your body at the cellular level and accelerate your biological age. You can develop the ability to manage stress by meditating, avoiding triggers, and engaging in healthy leisure activities.
• Engage with your family & friends.?A 2018 study of 113 men and women found that loneliness can increase the signs of aging. Therefore, your social circle is an important factor in reducing your biological age. To help slow the biological signs of aging, foster a supportive social environment for yourself and participate in community engagement.
• Have a?positive mindset.?A negative mindset adds unnecessary stress and can have an adverse effect on your mental health. In a 2019 study of both men and women, those who practiced an optimistic outlook were 11-15% more likely to have a longer lifespan. Keep your biological age in check by maintaining a positive mindset

Conclusion

Chronological age cannot be changed, but Biological age plays a major role in how you feel and function. While chronological age cannot be changed, biological age is malleable and can even be reversed, allowing you to look and feel younger than your chronological age

By exercising, managing stress, and paying special attention to what we place into and onto our bodies, we can slow down—and even reverse— our biological age.

Wade Foster

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