Our friends at The Daily Beast posted a fascinating article today on Thea Singers new book, Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate the Body and Mind along with 10 tips for turning back the clock.
We decided to recap for you.
In her book, Singer discusses how telomeressomething you may not have heard of, but surely will soonare the backbone of the stress-aging connection.
Often compared to the little plastic caps at the end of shoelaces, telomeres are the tips at the ends of our chromosomes that protect our DNA and keep everything copacetic. As time passes and our cells reproduce, our telomeres become shorter, until finally they become so small that the process stops. As this happens, we see signs of aging.
Apparently a white hot area of science, doctors will soon be able to administer blood tests to determine the length of our telomeres. Alsoand fortunatelywe have the tools to control our telomeres and even lengthen them once theyve been worn down.
In short, like most things in life, it all comes down to stress and how we deal with it.
Use the following 10 tips to deal with stress and lengthen those precious telomeres.
1. Ditch the Diet
Eat mindful, dont diet. Not only is it stressful, it can take its toll biologically (aka age us).
2. Lose the Belly Fat Belly fat induces cellular aging. As "our guts expand, our health deteriorates, our hair grays, and our skin sags off our bones," writes Singer. 3. Eat Pistachio Nuts A 2007 Penn State study revealed that eating these little nuts often can reduce our vascular response to stress. Apparently, they relax our blood vessels, causing blood pressure, LDL (the bad cholesterol), and triglycerides to drop. 4. Take Omega-3s This cant be news to you. If youre not taking Omega-3s, what are you waiting for?! Not only do the fatty acids protect our telomeres, but they actually can help them grow. Sweet! 5. Find an Exercise You Enjoy and Do It Regularly Finding a form of exercise that you actually enjoy doing (yes, they exist) and doing it regularly has been linked to preserving and sometimes lengthening telomeresyou know, turning back the clock. To get the most out of your workouts, do both aerobic and strength training. 6. Meditate In 2007, the Shambhala Mountain Center set up a three month meditation retreat for research. When time was up, participants had raised the level of telomerase in their blood, compared to a control group. How, you ask? Daily meditation exercises led to "an increase in perceived control and a decrease in neuroticism," Singer explains of the research.
Well take it. 8. Hang Out With Friends This is an easy one. According to Teresa Seeman, a stress researcher at UCLA, "The degree to which having emotional support, the perception that this exists and the reality of its being there, basically means that your brain is bathed in lesser amounts of stress hormones." Fewer stress hormones means longer telomeres. 9. Sleep Even better! Being sleep-deprived means having increased levels of stress hormones, as well as suppressed immune function. Both of these things mean shorter and lower levels of telomeres. 10. Dance Huh? Studies show that dancing into old ageparticularly in a choreographed sort of waycan work wonders for our minds and bodies. It provides a mental workout from learning new steps and routines, and a regular one that comes from moving. Dance also usually facilitates social interaction, as well, giving us a three-prong positive boost. Nicole Fabian is Associate Editor of ThirdAge.com. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
