The Retirement Newsletter: Ageing — can we avoid it?

Issue Number: 205 (58) — what can we do to slow the ageing process?

Photo by Author — spring is great — I love this time of year

Welcome

Welcome to issue 205 (58): Ageing — can we avoid it?

This newsletter was originally called “Ten Things That Make You Age”. It was going to be a list of ten things I had noticed about ageing, with a bit of humour, but as I started to write it, it became something else.

Ageing

Ageing is funny, and I don’t mean “funny ha ha”; I mean it is just odd. Why do we age? Basically, I am asking, why do we wear out?

Why do we age?

Ageing is a complex biological process driven by genetic, environmental, and biochemical factors. As a retired biochemist/cell biologist, I can give you plenty of reasons as to why we age:

• DNA Damage and Repair: Over time, the DNA in our cells accumulates damage from normal metabolism, environmental stress (like UV light or toxins), and copy errors. While cells have DNA repair mechanisms, they’re imperfect and become less effective with age.

• Telomere Shortening: This is a classic one. The ends of our chromosomes, containing our DNA and genes, are protected by a Telomere cap. Each time a cell divides, these caps get shorter. When they become too short, the cell can no longer divide and either dies or enters a dormant state (senescence). You can view the telomeres as a timer, a limiting factor on a cell’s lifespan.

• Cellular Senescence: Some cells stop dividing and start secreting inflammatory substances. These “senescent cells” can disrupt nearby healthy cells and contribute to ageing and age-related diseases.

• Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Mitochondria are the cell’s energy producers. Over time, they become less efficient and produce more harmful byproducts (like reactive oxygen species (ROS)), which can cause cellular damage. It should be noted that mitochondria also contain DNA (mtDNA), and this DNA, just like the DNA in the nucleus of the cell, can become damaged over time.

• Loss of Proteostasis: Cells lose their ability to properly make and maintain proteins, leading to the accumulation of misfolded or damaged proteins, which can impair cell function.

• Stem Cell Exhaustion : Stem cells help repair tissues. As we age, however, they become less effective or decline in number, reducing the body’s ability to regenerate damaged tissue.

• Epigenetic Changes: Ageing also involves changes in how genes are expressed (which cellular proteins are made) without altering the DNA. These changes can disrupt cellular function and increase vulnerability to disease.

• Inflammation: Chronic, low-level inflammation increases with age and contributes to tissue damage and many age-related diseases.

From a biochemist/cell biology point of view, that is ageing. Currently, there is not much we can do about it apart from trying to prevent damage to our DNA by limiting exposure to UV light and toxins and avoiding foods and lifestyles that can lead to inflammation. But we also shouldn’t forget the psychological side of the ageing process, that is, feeling older than we really are.

Physical Ageing Factors

There are a bunch of things we can do to help slow down the ageing process, such as:

• Avoid chronic stress: Stress raises cortisol levels, which can lead to faster cell ageing and fatigue. It can also stimulate our fight/flight response and raise our blood pressure, which is not good, as blood pressure raised over an extended period can lead to a number of medical conditions such as heart disease and strokes.

• Avoid sun exposure: Overexposure to the sun, that is, overexposure to harmful UV rays, can accelerate damage to collagen in the skin, which can lead to wrinkles. Also, UV exposure can cause age spots on the skin and skin cancer. Plus, the UV damages the DNA in the cells. So, put on a hat and use sunblock.

• Don’t smoke or drink excessively: This comes under ‘Eat well,’ but as smoking and excessive drinking can dramatically impact ageing, I decided to give it its own bullet point. Smoking and excessive drinking can lead to DNA damage, increased blood pressure, and an increase in inflammation, all of which accelerate the ageing process. Keep an eye on your alcohol intake, and if you smoke, try to give it up.

• Eat well and stay hydrated: A poor diet, high sugar, and processed foods accelerate ageing through inflammation and glycation (the uncontrolled addition of sugar molecules to proteins). Inflammation leads to premature ageing. Glycation changes the way proteins work in the body. These glycated proteins are often referred to as Advanced Glycation Endproducts, or AGE, an appropriate abbreviation. Also, a diet high in antioxidants can help protect the body against the damage caused by harmful metabolic byproducts like the reactive oxygen species (ROS) mentioned above. Plus, don’t forget to stay hydrated. Our bodies need water.

• Get plenty of sleep: Lack of sleep or poor sleep can manifest as wrinkles, low energy, and even memory fog, which feed into our psychological state and make us feel old. Sleep also gives our bodies and minds a chance to repair. So, get good sleep.

• Get some mental exercise: If you don’t use your brain, you will lose it. We need to keep our brains busy and not turn into vegetables. Learning new skills and facts and trying new things are great ways to keep the brain ticking over.

• Get some physical exercise : The sedentary lifestyle problem. Lack of movement weakens muscles, joints, and even cognitive health. If we eat a poor diet and do not sleep well, we may not feel like exercising, but we must. We need to break the cycle.

Besides the physical ageing factors, we should consider some psychological factors.

Psychological factors

Ageing can be a state of mind. If we think we are old, or older than we are, we may very well become that age. So, what are some things we should look out for? Well, for me, it’s things like:

• Not grunting when I get out of a chair: The involuntary “oof” can be a dead giveaway. I try to avoid. And one thing I try to do is not use the arms of the chair to lever myself out of it. We’ve got to keep our muscles, and in particular our core muscles, going.

• Keeping up with new slang or tech: If I described this newsletter as Bussin’, you may not know what I mean (Bussin’ means amazing, really good). Keeping up with slang, culture, science, and the latest tech trends is a great way to keep the mind active, and it means we don’t feel isolated and old.

• Avoid ‘in my day’: Watching our childhoods become ‘Retro’ is tough. When I hear that 70s music or 80s fashion described as “vintage,” it stings a little. I also watch out for the use of the phrases — “in my day”, “it was better when”, “back in the day”, “things have changed for the worse” — you get the idea, being preachy. Life is what it is, and I try to embrace change and the now.

Although avoiding the ageing process is not possible, there are things we can do to slow it down. So, what are you doing to slow down the ageing process? Please let me know in the comments below.

Next week

Next week, in issue 206 (59), I will examine how my budget planning went for my first year of retirement. When will I go broke?

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS: If you would like to contribute a story, give advice, or provide anything else to the newsletter, please get in touch.