Add 9 years to your life. Seems like a dream, right?
It’s not a dream. But it takes high intensity exercise to add 9 years to your life.
A recent study at Brigham Young University found high levels of physical activity result in a 9-year average advantage on the cellular level. That doesn’t mean your hair won’t gray, or you won’t get arthritis (but hold on, there’s hope), or that age lines won’t appear.
But it does mean that your cells will age slower–all your cells. Your heart cells, Your lung cells. All your cells will operate younger.
What happens as we age is the ends of our chromosomes gradually fray and break off with each regeneration. A new cell is formed during regeneration, but the telomeres at the ends of our chromosomes are slightly shorter, and this process continues to lose length each time.
But, you say, what kind of exercise?
Vigorous, active exercise. The kind of exercise that makes you sweat at least five times a week for a good 40 minutes (women have an advantage here, they only require 30 minutes five times a week). The study used jogging as an example of the required activity level, but they categorized 62 types of exercise activities.
So how about something less vigorous, maybe not as sweaty? Nope. The benefit only comes from high levels of activity, both sedentary and moderate exercisers did not gain the advantage.
The data came from 5,823 adults who participated in the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study participants ranged in age from 20 to 84. You can read the entire study in Preventive Medicine.
What was not mentioned is whether this exercise was required over an entire lifetime or whether beginning later in life could stall further degradation. More study will undoubtedly be performed, especially since additional benefits in reducing inflammation and oxidative stress are also tied to exercise.
Turns out Coach was right, working out was good for you.
Here’s two more suggestions on living healthier, happier, longer.
