Habits for Potentially Preventing Accelerated Aging: 

  • Consuming fewer calories 
  • Exercising
  • Managing stress 
  • Sleeping 6 to 8 hours 
  • Not smoking
  • Staying hydrated 
  • Supplementing with NMN 

Some people age faster than others and these age-accelerated individuals are at higher risk for developing diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Now, scientists have discovered an assortment of factors that may age us faster. With this in mind, the following habits may mitigate or help prevent age acceleration. 

Habits for Preventing Accelerated Aging 

Consuming Less Calories: Obese older adults who ate about 500 to 750 fewer calories per day showed age deceleration in a study done by researchers in Texas. Interestingly, combining a calorically restricted diet with exercise did not significantly decelerate aging further than diet alone. These findings suggest that, for older obese individuals, eating less food may be more beneficial than exercise in potentially preventing age acceleration. 

Exercise: Researchers from Loma Linda University in California tested the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on age acceleration in overweight middle-aged and older adults. They found that just three HIIT sessions per week for 1 month decelerated the age of participants by 3.59 years. In contrast, the age of the sedentary participants accelerated by 3.29 years. This means that exercise can not only prevent accelerated aging but reverse it as well. 

Managing Stress: A Harvard study showed that stressful events like pregnancy, surgery, and COVID-19 transiently accelerate aging. Chronic stress also accelerates aging, as shown by another study. Furthermore, chronic stress-induced accelerated aging was prevented in participants that regulated their emotions. This means that the age-accelerating effects of chronic stress could potentially be prevented by psychological resilience and emotional control. 

Sleep. A recent study examined the association between sleep duration and risk for accelerated aging. The results showed that participants who slept less than 6 to 8 hours per night were 7% more likely to age faster. Moreover, participants who slept longer than 6 to 8 hours were 18% more likely to age faster. Therefore, sleeping for just the right amount of time (6 to 8 hours for most people) could potentially prevent age acceleration. 

Not Smoking. Multiple studies, encompassing individuals across populations, have shown that smoking accelerates aging. A more recent study has shown that smokers tend to have more fat tissue than non-smokers, but this did not significantly affect the accelerated aging linked to smoking. Thus, according to these studies, a good way to prevent accelerated aging is to abstain from smoking tobacco. 

Staying Hydrated: As a proxy for hydration, scientists measured the blood sodium levels of middle-aged participants. The researchers found that participants with sodium levels exceeding 142 mmol/L tended to exhibit accelerated aging. These dehydrated individuals were also at increased risk for chronic diseases and premature mortality. Therefore, staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day could potentially prevent accelerated aging. 

Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN): Researchers tested the effect of five geroprotective molecules on accelerated aging in human blood samples. They found that both NMN and metformin decelerated the age of the samples. The other three molecules, resveratrol, aspirin, and curcumin did not decelerate or accelerate aging. These findings suggest that supplementing with NMN or metformin could potentially contribute to the prevention of age acceleration. 

Connecting the Dots 

Adopting the above habits could potentially prevent accelerated aging and lead to a longer and healthier life. Many of these habits are interconnected. For example, part of managing stress could include exercise and eating well. This is because exercise boosts mood while diets low in refined sugars could prevent poor mood by sustaining brain function. Getting a good night’s sleep can also help with managing stress levels while providing the motivation needed to exercise. 

In contrast, stress may lead to overeating, refined sugar consumption, smoking, poor sleep, or a lack of motivation to exercise. It follows that many of these habits tend to feed into each other, whether it be in the positive or negative direction. Furthermore, staying hydrated and supplementing with NMN could potentially provide the extra boost needed to set the other habits into action.