Plus 7 More Tactics To Delay Ageing
With the big things covered, here are some smaller steps you can make towards a longer fitspan
01 PRACTISE FASTING Fasting is believed to clear out cellular debris and renew your body’s ability to manage insulin and fulfil other functions. This can reduce your risk of agerelated diseases, according Dr Valter Longo at the University of Southern California. His work has involved fasts of three days or more, using a fast-mimicking diet. Fasts of just 12 hours may also extend lifespan, he says, but likely don’t bring all the benefits longer fasts do.
02 FIND YOUR PURPOSE You’ve heard it before, but a study in JAMA Network Open confirmed that feeling a sense of purpose affects longevity. Your purpose doesn’t have to be grand, like solving world hunger; it simply needs to bring you fulfilment. Community, personal achievement, good relationships, spirituality, kindness – there is no specific definition for any one person, explains lead study author Professor Celeste Leigh Pearce.
03 FIGHT THE FLAME Inflammation ages you. Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have even found a way to predict your ‘inflammatory age’. (Which has potential to provoke some inflammatory reactions, we’d wager.) Until this test is readily available, you can check inflammation levels with an hs-CRP test and aim to lower it with a Mediterranean-style diet and regular exercise.
04 UNDERSTAND YOUR RISK In the UK, rates of heart disease, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers vary between men and women of different ethnic backgrounds. ‘It’s important to ask your doctor, “How does my self-identified race affect my longevity?”’ says Dr Daniele Ölveczky of the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Asking helps your doctor take your life experience into greater consideration.
05 ACTIVELY MANAGE STRESS Research indicates heavy stress can shorten the life expectancy of a 30-year-old man by 2.8 years. Beyond stress reducers such as deep breathing, exercise and time spent outdoors, Lucas Krump, co-founder of Evryman, suggests dropping the mask – the work mask, the dad mask – that is holding something back.
‘Be the full version of yourself and shit gets way easier,’ he says.
06 TAKE SLEEP SERIOUSLY Sleep needs might be individual, but there are broad patterns worth paying attention to. An analysis of 1,654 adults published in the Journal Of The American Heart Association linked sleeping less than six hours a night with a worryingly higher mortality risk for those with hypertension or diabetes – both of which are increasingly common in middle-aged men.
07 PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO CHANGES Colorectal-cancer rates are rising among people under 50. Guidelines say you should start screening at age 45 or earlier if you have a family history. At any age, see a doctor if you have changes in bowel habits, blood in your stool, abdominal pain or unexplained weight loss.