Table of contents:
- Biological age differs from chronological age
- What affects body age?
- Stress
- Chemicals from outside the body
- Lack of sleep
- Body age (biological) can predict your health
How old are you? Maybe you often find people who are the same age, but seem that one is much older. This could be because of a different appearance or style of grooming, or it could also be because his body age is different from his actual age. Yes, it turns out that your body age can be different from your current age.
Biological age differs from chronological age
Biological age is the age of your body cells which describes how old you look. Meanwhile, chronological age is your current age which is calculated from your birth date. The age of your body cells may be older or younger than your actual age. This is what makes a person look older or younger than people his age. So it's true, age is just a number.
Experts suspect that it is the telomeres (the very ends that protect the chromosomes) that make the two ages different. Telomeres function to maintain the ends of chromosomes so that their quality does not decrease or from fusing with other chromosomes. This affects how quickly cells change their age and die. The more often the cell divides, the shorter the telomere because because the ends of the telomere will fall off each cell divides.
According to Dr. Terry Grossman, founder of Grossman Wellness Center, there is a direct relationship between telomere length and body age, the longer you live, the shorter your telomeres, as quoted from Medical Daily. This explains that even though you are the same age as your friend, you do not necessarily have the same body age.
What affects body age?
Your body age may not be the same as your real age. Various external and internal factors can affect the cells in your body and thus also affect your body age. Some of the things that can affect your body's age are:
Stress
Stress can have many negative effects on you, including your body age. Stress can age your body cells quickly. Not only stress, the wrong way to deal with stress, such as emotional eating, drinking alcoholic beverages, or substance abuse can also cause your body to age considerably more than you really are.
Chemicals from outside the body
Chemicals that enter the body can be obtained from any source, such as from the food or drink you consume, from the air you breathe, from the cleaning products you use, and many more. These chemicals can build up and make your body's cells work harder to get rid of them from the body. For that, you should pay close attention to every item you wear and get into your body.
Lack of sleep
Be careful, frequent lack of sleep can age your body cells older than your actual age. Getting enough sleep every day is needed to maintain the health of your body cells. While sleeping, your body's cells are actually still working to repair and restore themselves. So, if you are sleep deprived, the cells in your body don't have enough time to do this. Adults are encouraged to sleep for 8 hours each night.
Body age (biological) can predict your health
Recent research has shown that biological age can be a better determinant of a person's health than chronological age. Your body's cells are closely related to body function or body composition, so biological age can better determine your likelihood of developing age-related diseases, such as dementia and osteoporosis.
In a study published in the journal Genome Biology, researchers looked for genes that keep participants as young as 65 years old. As a result, researchers found 150 genes that are used to calculate what is called the "healthy age gene score". Higher gene scores were associated with better health in the participants. So, looking at that gene score, researchers can predict your likelihood of developing an age-related disease.
