Secret to touth: How telomeres affect aging

What's responsible for aging in the body

According to the expert, aging speed and youthfulness are determined by telomeres, precisely their length, which protects chromosome cells from aging during division.

Telomeres are segments of DNA consisting of numerous repeats located at the end of a linear chromosome. The main role of telomeres is to protect DNA.

The length of these telomeres is individual for everyone, even among people of the same age, and is influenced by several factors: stress, social environment, physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and ecology.

The longer the telomeres, the more times cells can divide without utilizing their bodies' resources. Otherwise, the cells shorten, age, and eventually die.

Telomeres are present in every cell in our body, in various tissues, organs, and blood. A blood test can reveal short telomeres, although this information alone is insufficient.

However, factors influencing telomere length can be analyzed through a test. Generally, the test is divided into two major aspects: "well-being" and "lifestyle."

Each of these two aspects is further divided into smaller subcategories:

• Stress impact
• Clinical emotional disorder
• Social support
• Physical activity
• Sleep
• Nutrition
• Exposure to chemicals

For each of these categories, you complete the test and receive a score. Ultimately, each category is assessed on a scale from 0 to 2 points:

• Poor
• Average
• Excellent

"The more points you have, the better the condition of your telomeres. You can also clearly analyze where you’ve lost the most points and what you need to work on to improve," the expert added.

Stress

Any stressful event can shorten telomeres, provided the stress is chronic or lasts for years. Short-term stress, however, is not as harmful.

External factors themselves are not decisive — the reaction to them matters.

"For one person, a minor issue (something someone said or did) can cause significant stress, and they will dwell on it for a long time, replaying it in their mind. This is called rumination. Another person may forget about the same situation the next day, even if the circumstances were identical," the report states.

Moderate disorders do not affect telomere length, only actual diagnoses that interfere with everyday life.

Earlier, we reported on 5 signs that you are aging faster than you should.

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.