Biological age can be turned back in a few days, according to a Harvard study

• In the attached video you can see how genetics researcher David Sinclair was able to reduce his biological age by ten years.

Stopping or even reversing your own aging process – that sounds almost too good to be true. But researchers at Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with Duke University School of Medicine, have just that possibility in a study studied in mice and humans. Their result: Biological age is subject to fluctuations and aging processes can be reversed within a few days.

In contrast to chronological age, which is measured in years of life from the time of birth, biological age varies between individuals and does not have to correspond to chronological age. The biological age describes the condition of the cells and tissues and depends not only on genetic factors but also on lifestyle. For example, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise and poor nutrition are factors that can accelerate cell aging.

Stress makes you old

Stress also has a negative effect on the human aging process, as numerous studies have shown. This is where the current Harvard study comes in: Vadim Gladyshev’s team examined changes in the biological age of humans and mice in response to various stressful situations.

As realistic scenarios that can cause this kind of stress, they examined the impact of major surgery, pregnancy, and serious illness on biological age.

Biological age was found to increase rapidly as a result of the stress, but once recovery from the stressful event occurred, biological age returned to baseline within a few days.

Biological age is subject to fluctuations

“This study shows that the biological age of humans and mice does not increase statically or steadily, but is subject to reversible changes over relatively short periods of time from days to months,” write the researchers in the Journal “Cell Metabolism” .

In the course of their investigations, a clear pattern emerged that exposure to stress increases biological age. But: “Once the stress was relieved, the biological age could be fully or partially restored.”

And further:

“In essence, our data demonstrate the dynamic nature of biological age – stress can trigger a rapid increase in biological age that can be reversed. The results also imply that high stress increases mortality, at least in part, by increasing biological age. This notion immediately suggests that mortality can be reduced by reducing biological age and that the Ability to recover from stress can be an important determinant of good aging and longevity .“

However, the study also has limitations, as the team itself acknowledges. Only the reaction to individual stressful situations and the subsequent recovery over a relatively short period of time were measured. The question of how such events affect an organism in the long term therefore remains unanswered for the time being. It also remains unclear what effects, for example, constant stress over months could have on the aging process – and whether this can also be reversed.

The exciting finding that aging processes are apparently not rigid but fluid should therefore form the basis for further research in this area.

People can influence their biological age

For the moment, at least, it can be stated that people themselves can influence how quickly their cells age through the way they lead their lives, but also through the way they deal with stress. It’s not just about how young or old someone looks. More importantly, as biological age increases, so does the risk of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, dementia, and cardiovascular disease.

The well-known age researcher David Sinclair, who also conducts research at Harvard Medical School in Boston, also believes that we have our aging process in our own hands. According to him, personal lifestyle and environmental factors determine more than 90 percent of how we age. The genes therefore account for less than ten percent.

The 53-year-old recently explained in an interview that he had turned his biological clock back ten years by changing his lifestyle. This wasn’t always the case, as in his 30s he ate and drank too much and was therefore overweight. The researcher therefore emphasized that it is never too late to do something.