TURNING BACK THE CLOCK

BY KATIE LUQUIRE – At this point in your life, you’ve undoubtedly heard that exercise is good for you. While it’s true that exercise can have excellent short-term effects such as improving mood, decreasing body fat, and decreasing stress levels, it turns out that exercise also has a long-term impact on longevity. Studies have shown that exercise not only makes us feel younger, but it can also improve functionality on a cellular level.

As it turns out, exercise has actually been shown to decrease the rate at which this cellular damage occurs. In a study at Brigham-Young University, adults with high levels of vigorous physical activity had a nine year biological advantage compared to sedentary adults. Additionally, “vigorous exercise” was classified as running for 30-40 minutes per day at least five times per week. What if you hate running, you may ask? Any aerobic exercise, like biking or swimming at a moderate pace is also sufficient.

Telomeres are believed to protect your DNA from damage during cell division and replication, much like the plastic tips on the ends of your shoelaces prevent the ends from fraying too much. However, with each cell division and replication, your telomeres shrink and eventually become too small to protect your chromosomes. Shortened telomeres are associated with a number of age-related diseases, such as cancer, strokes, and cardiovascular disease. According to an article published by The New York Times, those who exercised regularly actually had longer telomeres. Individuals were asked which of four categories of exercise they completed on a regular basis: weight training, moderate exercise, such as walking, vigorous exercise, like running, or daily activities, such as walking to work. Those who said they regularly completed all four types of exercise were 59% less likely to have short telomeres, indicating that more exercise in a greater variety may have a positive impact on longevity.

As it turns out, regular exercise can have a positive impact on other cellular mechanisms as well. High intensity interval training, commonly referred to as HIIT, is a form of exercise in which there are short bursts of intense exercise, followed by short recovery periods. The short recovery periods keep your heart pumping, providing a quick, efficient method of combining cardiovascular exercise with strength training, often in bouts of 45 minutes to one hour. Mayo Clinic researchers developed a study based on HIIT training, in which 72 sedentary adults in young (18 to 30) and older (65 to 80) age groups were assigned to HIIT cycling, weight training, or a cycling and strength-training plan. After 12 weeks, changes were measured in the participants’ strength, lean muscle mass, oxygen capacity, and insulin sensitivity. It was determined that participants in the HIIT group had the most benefits on a cellular level.

By the end of the 12 weeks, participants in the HIIT group had boosted their mitochondrial capacity by 49% in the younger group and 69% in the older group. The greater the mitochondrial capacity, the more efficiently a person is able to circulate oxygen throughout their system. Additionally, the functionality of the mitochondria has been linked to pathways that regulate the lifespan and the aging process, so keeping your mitochondria healthy is also crucial to managing the aging process. As it turns out, none of the weight training groups increased mitochondrial function, while only the younger group in the combined training program increased mitochondrial capacity. Therefore, while exercise is as a whole, beneficial, some of the biggest cellular benefits can be seen with HIIT training. 

Many studies have looked at individuals who had already been active, but what is the impact if you get a late start? A study published by Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise found that associations between exercise and telomere length were the strongest between the ages of 40 and 65, suggesting that midlife may be a significant time to start or continue exercising. Additionally, cardiovascular improvements can be made no matter the age at which a routine has started. Research has shown that men who start exercise at age forty or later achieve similar scores for heart rate and maximal oxygen uptake as men of the same age who started exercising before the age of thirty. Therefore, the benefits of exercise are just as advantageous, whether you get an early or late start.

Exercise has been proven to be a natural, effective method for improving outcomes in longevity and slowing the aging process. Studies have also shown that more exercise in a greater variety has a large impact on cellular function of mitochondria and telomeres. While studies are purely correlational for now, they do associate poor cellular function with a greater incidence of disease and mortality. Luckily, studies have also shown that it is never too late to turn back the clock.