Exercise is often praised for its ability to reverse the ageing process, and make us youthful! But, what does the science say?
To explain this process, we are going to head back to the basics of high school chemistry…so bear with us. We promise it will be over soon! Inside our cells, there are structures called ‘chromosomes’, which carry our genetic information. At the end of our chromosomes, there are caps called ‘telomeres’. As our cells duplicate and copy themselves over time (life), our telomeres shorten. The older we get, the shorter these telomeres become – and eventually they become too short to function, causing our cells to stop performing optimally i.e. they age. The ability to stop the ageing process is something that science has been trying to work out for years. Therefore, the idea that exercise could prevent the shortening of telomeres and furthermore the ageing of cells and overall the human body; has gained great attention in prior research. A large body of evidence has proven that exercise doesin fact reduce the rate at which telomeres shorten, which therefore could biologically be considered to ‘slow the rate of ageing’. With every finding though, there is always an opposing outcome. In this case, there have been studies which suggest telomeresdon’tchange the speed they shorten, regardless of the type or amount of exercise performed. Factors impacting these studies collectively, are the type of exercise performed in each study, the age of the subjects used in the studies, the length of time the studies were completed over, and the methods in which these results were recorded (Chilton, O’Brien, Charchar, 2017). Ok, so you might now be sitting here very confused about what all that actually means – so let’s break it down into something practical that you can take away and implement into your daily life! At a scientific level, there is evidence to suggest that regular moderate-high intensity exercise can and will reduce the rate of cellular ageing! Yay! Therefore, aiming to get 30mins per day of movement will be warmly welcomed by your cells, and has the potential to reduce your rate of ageing. Along with this, other positive impacts that exercise has on the body and overall health and long-term quality of life include: improved cardiovascular (heart) efficiency, greater cognitive function and stimulation, enhanced hormonal regulation (in particular insulin), improved metabolism and bone density as muscle mass increases, and finally, exercise just makes your feel great! The body was made to move, and when we use it for just that – we thrive! Maintaining your mobility and strength into your later years of life, will always lead to greater health outcomes. You’ll be able to move more freely, and enjoy each day for years to come!
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AuthorI'm Steph - a Health Sciences graduate, qualified Personal Trainer and Health Blogger. Here you will not find any quick fix, or diet tips. I'm here to share my love of life, fitness, mindset, and the lessons I learn as a journey through life. Archives
March 2020
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