When you ask a person about his age, he counts the years passed since his birth and gives you a number. But, do you know, this age is based on the events that happen outside your body?. Yes, it relies on the number of the Earth's revolutions around the sun. This is chronological age. There is another type of age based on the events that happen within your body known as the Biological age. An epigenetic process (DNA methylation) determines the biological age. A study, on biological age, in patients with major depression showed that they had higher age biologically than chronologically. It means they are much older biologically and are prone to other aging-associated diseases. Biological age is unique for everyone and predicts age-related disorders and the cause of mortality. Biological age is important to know because it reveals your complete health profile. The food you eat, the exercise you do, the number of hours you sleep, the type of work you do, the place you live, your emotions, and your health status everything around and within you tweaks your biological age.
Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the biological age of people. It bought drastic measures like lockdown, quarantine, online classes, remote work, etc. Irrespective of COVID infection, it has embraced a sedentary lifestyle affecting the health of people all around the world. In COVID infected population, post-COVID symptoms raised the biological age. The mundane lifestyle in the non-infected population increased their biological age. An increase in biological age is a wake-up call to change your lifestyle for healthy living. Following are the five best ways to reduce your biological age.
1. MOVEMENT
Get a daily dose of movement like dancing, swimming, or just walking. When there is movement in the body, the cells undergo autophagy – a cell renewal process where old cells get replaced by fresh and healthy cells. It reverses biological aging and makes you feel and look young.
2. DIET
Follow a diet that reduces carbohydrate intake and increases fat intake with some protein. It protects and restores the mitochondria (the power-house of the cell), whose efficiency declines as you get older biologically. Similarly, intermittent fasting facilitates autophagy which lowers the biological age.
3. REST
The cells in the body require their own time to restore themselves. All the molecular processes which reduce the biological age occurs during sleep. It also relaxes the tension in muscles and promotes learning and memory formation. Sleep thereby enhances your cognitive skills in addition to physical relaxation. A healthy sleep gives healthy new cells and a smarter new you.
4. WATER
About 60% of your body is water. A large amount of water intake is essential for the excretion of unwanted debris and the growth of healthy new cells. It is vital to keep your body hydrated, which hasten the cell renewal process.
5. HAPPINESS
Being happy naturally reduces your biological age. Practice meditation to overcome everyday stress. Do things that make you happy. Make it a routine to remind yourself how blessed you are, describe what you like the most, or how someone made you feel. Happy people have young and healthy cells.
The goal is to have a younger biological age as we chronologically age. You have to identify what raises your biological age and what does not. Generally, routine practices indirectly impact your physiology. Identify your daily routines and convert them into healthy and productive ones to have and maintain a younger biological age.
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