Page 32 - Seniorstoday January 2023 Issue

lifestyle, exercising in some manner, had a
lower biological age.
Smoking
Smoking has long been associated with
increased morbidity and mortality; it is
also known to increase the biological age.
Fortunately, the changes are reversible,
as found by studies conducted on
former smokers, current smokers and
nonsmokers. While the current smokers
showed an increased biological age, there
wasn’t much difference between the
nonsmokers and people who had given up
smoking.
Sleeping habits
Insomnia, reduced sleep, odd sleeping Determining your age
hours, all take a toll on our health, and Determining bio age requires study of two
increase bio age too. Whether it is the things:
quality of sleep, or quantity, it will affect 1. Telomeres (part of chromosomes)
the biological age negatively. Correcting Chromosomes are the building blocks of
your sleeping habits can, however, reverse DNA, present on each strand. At the end
the process. of each chromosome is a structure called
Stress telomere, which reduces in length as the
Stress, for obvious reasons, can cause biological age increases. Measuring the
biological age to increase. The effect, telomere can give an indication of your
however, seems to be reversible. biological age.
A study observed an increase in the 2. DNA methylation (how your DNA is
biological age, when the body was exposed ageing)
to stress due to infections, Covid, trauma.
Though the bio age increased drastically
when the body was under stress; however,
once the stressful circumstances were
removed, it reverted to the previous
number.

Environmental factors
Where you live, work, the air around
you, the pollution, all exposes you to
toxic elements which affect biological
age, increasing it. Unfortunately, not all
of them can be removed from your life;
however, you can counter it by taking a
few protective steps.

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