Exercise – the best tool for impacting your biological age!
With the wetter, colder weather starting to settle in it can be extremely tempting to neglect our regular exercise routine in place of bunking down and forgoing getting sweaty!
However, today I want to stress how the need to keep active, particularly when you feel least like doing so, is crucial in keeping yourself physically and mentally able as well as reducing and reversing biological age.
Ultimately, to facilitate movement our bodies evolved to become ‘walking’ creatures. Humans developed this way so that we could more easily wander long distances to forage for food.
Also, research shows physical inactivity, particularly sitting for prolonged periods of time, increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. This is often linked back to being overweight, a clear sign of inactivity!
There is also strong evidence that movement can stave off or even reverse serious illnesses, increasing both life and health-span thus lowering your biological age.
Do you need any other reason to get stay active over the colder months?
Just in case, I have listed 3 further compelling reasons below:
Exercise and Ageing – the Hormonal Perspective:
As you reach your 30s and beyond, your levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) begin to drop dramatically which triggers a phenomenon called ‘somatopause’. This plays a huge part in what drives your ageing process. You start putting on body fat – especially abdominal fat and losing muscle; you become more tired and lethargic as the “middle-age spread” sets in.
It is believed that most people over 30 have dramatically low levels of HGH because they begin leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles. However, exercise and movement optimise the production of growth hormones.
The higher your levels of growth hormone, the healthier and stronger you’re going to be. And the longer you can keep your body producing higher levels of HGH, the longer you will experience robust health and strength.
Types of Anti-Ageing Exercise Proven to Increase Production of HGH and Rewind Our Biological Clocks:
Meditation, balanced nutrition, herbal supplementation and mindfulness are all extremely valid ways of keeping your body healthy but are almost irrelevant without some degree of activity or exercise in your life!
All research has shown, you can limit bone and muscle loss through regular exercise. Studies have found that exercise can make your cells the equivalent of 9 years younger when partaking in HIIT Training whereby one intersperses intense exercise with moderate exercise within one short training session.
If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, fear not – studies in exercise show that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day can prevent at least 24 chronic diseases.
Sex also Contributes Towards your Activity Levels:
Your life expectancy may be dramatically increased through having more sex. In order to benefit fully, it is recommended to stay as fit and able as possible to fully enjoy the benefits of sex long term!
For women, who frequently have sex, studies have found increased levels of HGH which, as we have seen, is akin to the elixir of youth.
It is well known in anti-ageing research circles that having satisfying relationships and being positive in outlook are linked to longer life expectancies. Consultant neuropsychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Dr David Weeks, conducted a 10-year study of the subject has found that improving the quality of one’s sex life can help a person to look between four and seven years younger!
So, the take-home message is that whatever your age be mindful of the pitfalls of leading a sedentary lifestyle as even those who exercise regularly and seriously lose the benefits of this if they then sit down for long periods of time!
Keep moving. Be active.
Consider walking, tai chi, qi gong, yoga and a healthy sex life to keep yourself forever young!
Tags: anti-ageing, Biological Age, exercise, Health, health benefits
Thanks for your interesting insights on the link between movement and healthspan. I was not aware of the connection between exercise and HGF. I live in a tropical country (Jamaica) where the weather is congenial all year so most days are usually good for exercise. Despite this, obesity is a growing problem and most persons do not get even the minimum level of exercise which is generally recommended. This has been exacerbated by the shift to working from home because of the COVID pandemic. This has increased the amount of time we spent sitting at home-based workstations. It requires a… Read more »
My goodness, you are so right Barrington. I always talk about exercise being a ‘three legged stool’; walking for our low-impact, low intensity cardio, stretching (yoga, pilates etc.) and resistance exercises (lifting weights, bodyweight exercises and so on). If only ‘those in charge’ would really get to grips with promoting exercise as an easy and inexpensive health activity, they’d see a massive change to the health of all our nations!
Great article and timely with winter coming up. I read somewhere that sitting down is the new “smoking” so I will be taking Jayney’s advice and will make sure I walk 5 times a week for at least 30 mins on top of my weights and yoga.
Thank you Celia, I’m delighted to hear this. It is such an easy, low cost strategy, and it makes such a difference to every aspect of health – mentally, emotionally, physically and even spiritually – especially if you can get out into nature. Much love xx