Transcript Moving with the CHeese

MOVING WITH THE
CHEESE
Rebeccah Mercado, MS, CHES
June 3, 2015
WE ARE ALL AGING
 Aging is hard to study – Many factors involved
 Not sure why we die incrementally
 Only have probabilities, certainty is a mirage
 Planned obsolescence
 Ways to study aging:
 Extreme human conditions (Everest base camp, Space Station,
Saskatchewan)
 Longitudinal studies
NATURE OR NURTURE
 DNA / Genetics
 A blueprint
 A starting point
 Epigenetics – switching on and of f of gene expression
 Everything that happens to us is potentially life altering
 “We think longevity is probably 70 – 75% lifestyle” – Dr.
Brooks-Wilson
AGING OR RUSTING
 Daily metabolism creates cellular garbage, eventually can’t
sweep it all away
 Oxidative damage
 Stress
 Inflammation
 Chronic disease
 Organ failure or system failure
CHRONIC STRESS
 Chronic stress is harmful
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Increased risk of cardiovascular disease,
Impaired immune function
High blood pressure
Inhibited DNA repair
Increased risk of dementia
Elevated blood-glucose levels
Widespread inflammation
 Perceived lack of control = added stress
 British study of office workers
 “The dominant baboon enjoys untroubled sleep”
 Robert Sapolsky, Stanford Neuroendocrinologist
ACUTE STRESS
 Acute stress is good for us
 Challenge yourself – master something difficult
 Adversity Theory: “resilience is learned by facing hardship and
overcoming it”
 “mild version” = suffering often leads to growth
 “extreme version” = we MUST suffer to reach the pinnacle of human
flourishing
 Saskatchewan Ef fect
 Optimal time (sensitivity) for this type of growth – late teens
through early thirties
WHAT IS YOUR AGE?
 Chronological age
 Biological age – “what you can still do?”
 Biological clock
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Protein cap that seals the end of the chromosomes = telomere
Telomeres protect the DNA
Every cell division slices off some of the cap
Eventually the cell dies = age related disease
 Telomere length is set at birth
 Life circumstances can change the “burn rate”
THE BRAIN
 “All natural blessings are either mental or physical” – Galen
 Bodily fitness & mental fitness work together – the goal is to
bring them “into tune” – Plato
 Neuroplasticity
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Brain can rewire/retrofit
Mental rehearsal
Mindfulness
Meditation
WHAT CAN WE DO?
 Sleep
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Sleep deprivation guts working memory & shortens life
Study of 15,000 US nurses (2012)
Sleep/stress aids
 Diet
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Nutrients
Fatty acids
No refined sugars, processed foods, etc.
 Hydration
WHAT CAN WE DO?
 Travel
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“Enriched” environment
Sensory stimulation (taste, smell, sound, customs)
Orienteering challenge – navigating a new place, going new ways
 Leaning languages
 Exercise
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Heavy artillery against cognitive decline
Sudoku is a shovel vs. exercise – Dr. Vaillant
The whole brain blooms
“It adds life to your years”
Makes every other good habit more potent – “synergy effect”
REFERENCES
 Grierson, B. (2015). What makes Olga run?: The myster y of
the ninety-something track star and what she can teach us
about living longer, happier lives . New York, New York: St.
Martin's Grif fin.
 Levine, J. (2014). Get up!: Why your chair is killing you and
what you can do about it . New York, New York: Palgrave
MacMillan.
 Swanson, L., & Vernikos, J. (2014). Scared sitless: The office
fitness book. Seattle, WA: Elless Media, LLC.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Rebeccah Mercado, MS, CHES
Research Coordinator, General Pediatrics
Program Coordinator, Center for Digital Health & Wellness
PhD Student, College of Health & Human Performance
(407) 383-8919
[email protected]