How to Prolong Human Lifespan
As life expectancies have risen over the past century, scientists have made
tremendous progress in extending human lifespan through improvements in the
environment and public health rollingillsgin. These advances lowered infant mortality rates,
prevented deaths from disease and helped people live longer lives.
Despite these advances, there is still much that scientists do not understand about
how human life ages and how to extend it. It is a complex problem with many
factors influencing it, including genetics and the lifestyle of the individual.
The most important factor is a person’s genes. These genes determine how long you
can expect to live. Certain variants of genes, such as those that influence blood fat
(lipid) levels and inflammation, can significantly increase your life span. Some genes
also affect the function of your cells, such as DNA repair and maintenance of
chromosome ends called telomeres.
Another key element is healthy habits. Maintaining a healthy diet, exercising
regularly and getting plenty of sleep can all help to lengthen your life. Studies have
shown that some types of exercise, such as brisk walking, can also reduce the risk of
heart disease and other health problems.
Scientists have also found that some personality traits can increase your life
expectancy. For example, conscientious people – people who pay attention to detail,
think things through and try to do what’s best for their health – have been linked
with increased longevity.
They are also likely to have healthier habits and lower rates of obesity and diabetes.
These include eating a diet high in antioxidants and low in saturated fat, smoking
less and drinking a lot of water.
These positive habits may help you to live a healthier longer life, according to
research published in the journal Nature Communications. They have been shown to
protect against age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer by
boosting the activity of an enzyme called telomerase that lengthens telomeres,
which are repeated sequences of DNA material at the ends of chromosomes.
While this type of work can lead to better outcomes, it is not yet clear whether these
interventions will have a significant effect on the fundamental upper limits of the
human lifespan. This is because the mechanisms involved in maintaining somatic
(body) homeostasis are incredibly diverse and the processes that regulate them are
highly complex.
It would be a huge challenge to develop an intervention that targets the underlying
cause of the aging process and simultaneously tackles the effects of ageing on a
number of other vital systems. It would require multiple, finely regulated, targeted
interventions that could be effective in different choke points of the ageing process
but which are also unlikely to be detrimental in other areas.
In addition, it would take an immense amount of money to develop these strategies.
Ultimately, the cost of achieving an extension in human lifespan will depend on what
kind of incentives society is willing to provide for it and who benefits from it.