Happy Friday!
Ever wonder why you’re happy to stay in without talking to anyone for hours while your siblings can throw a party every night? It’s not just upbringing. Scientists recently found that genetics may shape personality types, including willingness to try new things, or how organized you are. Knowing your natural tendencies may help you build routines that better support your health and longevity.
Today’s headlines:
Why a little suffering might be good for your heart
The type of walking you actually need to lower your risk of early death
Map your brain, master your mind
The oldest person in the world turned 117
Which form of “good stress” would you actually try?
Spotlight
What doesn't kill your mitochondria might make your heart stronger
Written by: Rachel Rhee
New research suggests that mitochondria that face stress in early life may protect against heart damage as you get older.
What researchers found
Scientists at the Salk Institute briefly stressed the mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses of the cell, in mouse embryos. To test whether that early stress impacts the heart, researchers used a chemotherapy drug known to trigger heart failure in mice.
They observed that mice who faced early stress to their mitochondria grew into adults with stronger hearts.
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Researchers chalk it up to mitohormesis, a process in which low levels of mitochondrial stress make the body stronger and more resilient over time, rather than weaker.
When the team temporarily interfered with the mitochondria in mice, the mitochondria discharged a molecule called citrate that appears to reprogram cells in ways that persist into adulthood.
Why this matters
It’s too early to prove if the theory translates to human adults. But mitohormesis is one form of hormesis, the idea that some short, mild stressors can train the body to adapt and come back stronger.
Sauna sessions, cold plunges, HIIT workouts, and intermittent fasts are types or hormesis that might support cardiovascular health in older adults.
The takeaway: Your cells might need a little pressure to build long-term resilience against the diseases of aging, and simple things like a sauna session or cold plunge might nudge that process along.
Wellness watch
Walk Like You Mean It
Walking fewer than 5,000 steps a day at a brisk pace may be linked to a substantially lower risk of early death.
Written by: Rachel Rhee
Emerging research has found that the popular 10,000 step target we all know and love (/hate?) isn't really based on clear health evidence. Now, a new study hints that it may only take as little as 5,000 steps to reap significant longevity benefits.
But the formula requires looking at more than steps alone.
What researchers found
When researchers tracked more than 64,000 adults in the UK Biobank, they discovered that certain combinations of step count plus walking pace could lead to a 43% lower risk of dying early.
People who walked at a brisk pace for fewer than 5,000 steps a day saw a substantially lower risk of early death.
People who walked 5,000 to 7,500 steps daily at a slower pace saw a similarly lower risk.
Researchers didn't specify an exact speed or steps-per-minute cutoff for "brisk" but they measured it as each person's fastest 30 minutes of walking across the day. In other words, you're breathing noticeably harder but can still talk in short sentences.
Why it matters: If hitting 10,000 steps a day has been a struggle (raising my hand over here!), this study should take some pressure off your stride.
Walking briskly for even part of your day, consistently, may do more for your lifespan than chasing the bigger number.
In other news
You can now pre-order a wearable that maps your mind
Brain-wearable company ATLAS has opened pre-orders for Atlas 1.0, a non-invasive, behind-the-ear device designed to help you befriend your brain waves.
How it works
The company says the AI-powered wearable combines EEG-based brain wave tracking to translate brain patterns into three measures: Presence, Stress, and Energy Burn.
An algorithm links these shifts in brain state with the habits, environments, and activities surrounding them.
Over time, the data creates a map which ATLAS can use for personalized insights intended to spot patterns and boost performance and self-understanding.
But it’s new, so it’s expensive: It’s a premium-priced entry at $499 to pre-order, plus a $29.99 monthly membership for sensors, app access, and insights.
Even still, that is (unfortunately) not much more expensive than a WHOOP or OURA membership.
Big picture: The Atlas 1.0 is not a mind reader, but being able to map and understand your brain patterns could shape a new era of habit-tracking.
Short longevity hits
Tinned fish and tunes: Why Gen Z is eating tinned fish at concerts. Plus, what makes tinned fish so healthy?
Be bold. Exhale longer: A new review links a longer exhale to making bolder decisions.
Before the plaques: Brain changes might show up years before Alzheimer’s-related plaques.
Long-levity
Image credit: LongeviQuest
The world’s oldest person turned 117
The one thing she credits to her longevity.
Frank Sinatra recently attended Ethel Caterham’s 117th birthday (OK I admit it was a Sinatra impersonator). Caterham is officially recognized as the world’s oldest living person after Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas died at 116.
Her secret to longevity: In a 2020 interview, when asked about her secret to longevity, Caterham offered a disarmingly simple answer: don’t argue. “I listen to what they say, and then do as I like.”
But the grandmother of three continues to make room for purpose, pleasure, and connection, offering a few more clues about the good life.
Stop and smell the roses: She regularly enjoys trivia, smelling flowers, and listening to birdsong and music (especially Sinatra), she previously told LongeviQuest.
Keep room for firsts: At 116, Caterham stroked a llama and held hands with the King.
We may not all live to 117, but her outlook, curiosity, and openness are proof of what it means to live well. Cheers to another year of firsts.
New at Livelong
What we’re signing up for
On 9/16: The truth about aging with clarity, dignity, and purpose with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig. Circle community members can sign up here.
Not part of the women’s community yet? Join here.
What we’re enjoying
A vacation to take for each decade of life.
Can EMFs be good for aging?
Reader response
Highlighting your responses to last week's question, featured in Remembering Gloria Steinem. We asked:
What's hardest for you to give up?
Livelong readers have a sweet tooth! Sugar is considered harder to give up than bread or cheese or a post-dinner glass of vino.
One reader writes in: “[I] could absolutely live without the other three—I don't drink alcohol and I don't really like cheese...and [I’m] meh on bread and pasta—but SUGAR in baked goods and candy..ooof very hard to give up.”
In moderation, sugar and bread and wine can all be part of a healthy diet. Just don’t give me ice cream.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.
Erin
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The information provided about wellness and health is for general informational and educational purposes only. We are not licensed medical professionals, and the content here should not be considered medical advice. Talk to a doctor before trying any of these suggestions.
