How does ageing work and how can you slow it down?
Ageing is well described biologically, but there are no proven means of genuinely slowing it in humans yet. For now, focus on what works: sufficient exercise, a protein-rich diet and avoiding overeating.
Ageing does not follow a smooth, gradual slope. Research involving nearly 52,000 people showed that the largest shifts in blood proteins occur around the ages of 41, 60 and 67. At the cellular level, DNA damage, poorly functioning mitochondria (the cell's energy factories) and protein clumping accumulate over time. At the same time, the chemical labels on DNA that determine which genes are switched on or off change in pattern. These pattern changes are so predictable that they function as a kind of biological clock, one that can even estimate the likelihood of disease and death.
One of the most visible consequences is low-grade, persistent inflammation, also known as 'inflammaging'. The body is, in a sense, perpetually on a low level of alert without any acute infection being present. This background inflammation increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. The gut microbiome plays an active role in this: an unfavourable composition of gut bacteria can release pro-inflammatory substances. Overeating works in the same way: a continuous caloric surplus causes a similar smouldering inflammation and thereby accelerates the biological ageing process.
Muscle loss is another concrete consequence of ageing. An estimated 3 to 24 percent of the population is affected by it to varying degrees. A combination of adequate high-quality protein, regular physical exercise and, where necessary, anti-inflammatory measures is the best-supported approach. Drugs that stimulate muscle growth, such as certain hormone-like substances or antibodies targeting inhibitors of muscle growth, are under investigation but have not yet been proven effective in humans.
For slowing ageing itself, the most promising approaches, such as partially 'resetting' cells to a younger state, removing senescent cells with so-called senolytics, and blood exchange between young and old individuals, have so far been tested exclusively in animal models. The step to humans has barely been taken. Five blood proteins have been identified as potential future drug targets through genetically supported analysis, but that too remains far from clinical application. Plant extracts such as berberine have only been studied in computer models and have no clinical evidence behind them.
Claims are based on multiple large observational and molecular studies, including a study involving nearly 52,000 participants (PMID 40328427), broad reviews on epigenetic mechanisms (PMID 32020082) and inflammaging (PMID 30046148, 27501488), and a muscle loss review (PMID 30098424). Experimental anti-ageing interventions are largely derived from animal research (PMID 32020082). Computational claims (PMID 37439907) are without clinical evidence.
Does stress make you age faster?
Prolonged stress demonstrably accelerates your biological aging. Healthy lifestyle habits that reduce physical and oxidative stress can noticeably slow that process.
Can you really lower your biological age, and does the research support this?
There are promising indications that biological age is measurable and perhaps controllable, but clinical evidence that you can truly and lastingly lower that age is still lacking. Wait for larger studies before basing major decisions on this.
Do some people age primarily through their heart and others through their metabolism?
Yes, people age through different organ pathways. The science needed to map this precisely for each individual is promising, but still at an early stage.
Does your biological age change differently at night than during the day?
The night is biologically not a pause but an active recovery phase, and that phase deteriorates noticeably with age. Those who protect their sleep rhythm, with fixed times, limited screen use before bedtime and a longer nightly eating break, preserve that recovery function for longer.
Is it true that women age more slowly biologically than men?
Multiple studies confirm that women are biologically younger than men of the same age, but women also spend their extra years more often in poorer health. The difference is therefore real, but more complex than the simple conclusion that 'women age more slowly'.
Does your body age faster after a prolonged period of stress?
Prolonged stress demonstrably accelerates biological ageing through multiple measurable mechanisms. Reducing stress, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and addressing socioeconomic circumstances are the most concrete strategies the research offers.