Psychology + Longevity = Happier, Healthier Living?
Psychology: the study of how humans think, act, and feel 🧠
Longevity: the study of how long, and well humans live 🧬
These two topics have been fascinating to me for the longest time. The human brain and actions are insanely complex, but also primitive at the same time. Why do we do what we do? Why do we say what we say? How does that affect not only other people’s feelings but also our own? Does negative psychology affect us in the long run?
Well, I went on a rabbit hole dive at 1 am in the morning (are you surprised?) on a particular Saturday “morning” and discovered that negative psychology goes farther than you would think.
The Connection
A particular TED-x talk inspired my deep dive into psychology + longevity. The TED talk was one that Elizabeth Blackburn gave from 4 years ago. This one video changed how I saw the world and humans as a whole. She made this amazing connection in her studies.
You can find the talk here. To summarize the video, Elizabeth Blackburn told her story about how she figured out the science of telomeres. Telomeres, as she explains, are like the “rubber ends of your shoelaces”. They protect the threading of your actual shoelaces until the rubber eventually wears out. Telomeres do exactly that; they’re the ends that protect your DNA.
When a cell divides into two (get your high school biology ready!), it splits its DNA into two as well. When that happens, your DNA loses about 20–200 base pairs. Telomeres are here to make sure no real DNA gets cut. When telomeres completely fade out, the cells either die out or the nasty alternative which is senescent cells. If you want to find out more about senescent cells and why we age (hint, hint) check out my other article here. (Shameless plug)
Elizabeth did this study where she was prompted with a question by one of her co-workers. “What happens to the telomeres of people who are chronically stressed?” Well, they went on a rabbit hole dive, as I did, and found something truly remarkable.
Elizabeth and her co-workers did a case study on mothers who have children with chronic illnesses like autism. Long story short, they discovered that these mothers who were in their study had shorter telomeres than a mother with a healthy baby.
Okay, so what does this mean for the rest of us?
Well, this study is basically stating that being chronically stressed wears out the length of your telomeres drastically faster.
Another part of Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn’s research was studying the effects of telomeres on the human body. When your cells begin to become zombies (senescent cells) or begin to die out faster, it increases your risks of cancer, and other diseases, while also aging you. Sagging skin, white hair, immobility, etc.
An In-Depth Biology Standpoint
Why does stress shorten our telomeres? What is really happening behind the scenes?
Each time your cell divides, bits of telomeres get chopped off. We know that now. But there is actually an enzyme called telomerase that replenishes that supply before it runs out too quickly. The increase in cortisol and other stress hormones like norepinephrine (weird name), and adrenaline (the bad type that comes from procrastination) also decreases the amount of telomerase that gets produced. When your cell sustains enough of the blows without enough telomerase, it becomes senescent or dies, which also contributes to aging.
You might be stressed about *being stressed* now! Well, we all have things going on in our lives making us stressed; it’s just life. But, the amount and consistency of stress could be the key to healthy telomeres.
According to studies, there have been patterns of shortened telomeres in relation to early childhood life. Children who have been severely neglected, undergone abuse, or witnessed abuse have been shown to have drastically shortened telomeres. As morbid as it is, children who never got a chance at a good life had that shadow over their later quality of life. But, like with all things psychological, it’s fixable. With the right amount of care in later life, telomeres can also be lengthed.
Some diseases linked to telomere shortening
Just to prove a point on how big of an impact telomeres play on our health, here’s a preview of some common diseases linked with telomere shortening (and it’s not just aging!).
Aplastic Anemia: a form of bone marrow disease, where bone marrow is susceptible to internal bleeding and infection
Pulmonary Fibrosis: a lung disease of the scarring of lung tissue. 15% of cases of pulmonary fibrosis have to do with mutations or severe shortening of telomeres.
Gastrointestinal Tumor GIST (cancerous): Cancer that begins in the digestive system.
Head and neck cancer are also commonly associated with the rapid shortening of telomeres.
Wait, wait, wait, medication can solve anything, right?
Before I get spammed with comments, yes, there are pills you can take to increase the length of your telomeres. And yes, you can buy them on Amazon Prime for $22.99 with fast delivery shipping. But these pills aren’t going to solve everything.
Yes, they do work, and it is clinically proven to be safe, but increasing telomere length too much can also be a deadly problem. By stuffing yourself with TA-65 (the drug for telomeres), it could increase telomere length to a dangerously long length.
Telomeres were created a certain length, and it needs to stay that length, or shorter. Super long telomere length will only cause cancerous infections. Balance between TA-65 and natural lengthing of telomeres is important, so don’t go stuffing yourself with pills!
Here’s a link to a google slides I made on this topic as well. (They’re more pitch/presentation slides to aesthetically look at.)
Moral of the Story?
After researching all this, the most inspiring thing was that we have the choice every day to choose what life we want to live. I know that sounds super cliche, but how you think and choose to live your life every day can affect how long and how well you live later on, from a biological standpoint.
If you’re always pessimistic, and grumpy chronically, it could affect your biological clock that’s ticking down the decades, years, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds of your life.
So think about that. Next time you feel down, upset, or furious, just think about how that affects your telomeres.
Quality of life affects the quantity of life.
