Exercise Variety May Slow Aging

It turns out any amount and type of exercise may slow the aging process. However, a recent study has found mixing up your exercise routine may be the best approach to slowing the aging process.

Aging is measured by the length of your cell’s telomeres. Telomeres are the protective caps at the end of your DNA, like the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. They help protect the ends of your DNA each time a cell copies itself and divides to make new cells. Telomeres naturally shorten and fray as you age and this process is accelerated if you are not active enough, overweight, smoke, eat fast food, as well as other bad lifestyle habits. The bottom line is an unhealthy lifestyle leads to premature aging.

In a recent study, researchers found people who exercised more were less likely to have shorter telomeres, a sign of aging. The most interesting finding was people who performed…

2 types of exercise were 24 percent less likely to have shorter telomeres

3 types of exercise were 29 percent less likely to have shorter telomeres

4 types of exercise were 59 percent less likely to have very short telomeres

What can we learn from this study? Exercise is good for anti-aging and exercise variety is even better!
Try to do at least four different types of exercise or physical activity every week. The best variety of activity includes any type of cardiovascular exercise, such as walking or running, high intensity interval training, body weight/support exercise, such as yoga, strength training with weights, or playing your favorite sport. The more you mix it up, the more you may slow the aging process.

Source:
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/does-exercise-slow-the-aging-process/