a list of New Year’s resolutions
We tend to think that our body is like a machine that it wears out with use and the passing of the years. It is undoubtedly a mechanistic vision that is similar to seeing our joints like a hingeDNA as an instruction manual that does not vary as it is ‘imprinted in stone’ from birth. However, everything can change to lengthen our life. The habits of life. That at the beginning of each year we make a list headed by a change in the lifestyle habits we have, is certainly not a crazy idea. all because science knows that our habits do not burn calories or relax us, but rather they reprogram our genes. To this end, there are many published studies that offer us a general idea of how exercise, sleep and social relationships act as “genetic activators” that can lengthen our life, or at least live it with fewer diseases. Exercise as a security patch. For years, the recommendation to play sports focused on having a healthier heart that pumped better. We now know that the impact is much deeper: reaches our cells and DNA. This is what different studies point out that show that exercise modulates DNA methylation. To understand this word, we can imagine DNA as a fuse box, and methylation are those switches that turn the lights on and off at home. Well, taking this into account, a sedentary lifestyle keeps the biological fuses that promote cellular aging active. A way to stay young. But the opposite happens when we have an active life with moderate physical activity: these changes in DNA are reversed so that our muscle looks much younger. And taking care of our cells is taking care of ourselves, since their aging causes us to age too. This is something that has been seen in an analysis of 3,000 human muscle sampleswhich confirms that those people more fitness They have “younger” genetic and gene expression profiles. But when there is inactivity we do not remain as if nothing had happened, but rather induces aging profile. Loneliness and chronic stress. If exercise optimizes our DNA to be younger, chronic stress and feeling alone completely corrupts the system. And when the body detects a hostile environment it activates a very clear defense mode: it increases pro-inflammatory particles. And when we talk about inflammation, nothing good can be behind, since it means tissue destruction and also being more prone to contracting diseases such as viral infections, which also leads to accelerated immune aging. The light. We live in a constantly enlightened societyand our body does not have its updated genetics for this, since it is still anchored in a time where there were no televisions, screens or anything. Only darkness at night on the street and also in the houses. And the application of light at different times of the day It has a consequence that we have already talked about: lack of melatonin. The problem is that melatonin is not just the “sleep hormone”; It is a biological signal that tells the body that it is night. By suppressing it, especially with short-wave or blue light from screens, we cause a chronodisruption. That is, we break the internal clock that we all have. It’s a problem. Melatonin directly affects the regulation of such important aspects as glucose levels and also blood pressure. But above all it prevents the brain “cleaning” that is done at night when we sleep to eliminate particles that They greatly influence diseases as relevant as Alzheimer’s. Social relations. Perhaps the most surprising point of recent research is how Interacting with other human beings affects our biology at a molecular level. It’s not just about “feeling good,” but social interactions promote genetic regulation. What has been seen is surprising: it improves the regulation of blood pressure and slows down the aging of the immune system. Aspects that logically the longer they delay, the better quality of life it will give us. Images | Gabin Vallet In Xataka | The promise of 120 years is dismantled: biology sets a life ceiling that is quite difficult to break