Can we slow down our biological clocks?

MARCH 7 — Do you know anyone in their fifties or older who moves and speaks like he or she is 20 years younger?

Conversely, isn’t it sad when we see young adults who lead sedentary lives move like they are already in their sixties?

The first group has slowed down their biological clocks; the second has sped them up.

I found out last year that decelerating (or even reversing) our biological clocks is something all of us can do. Then I watched Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick and was even more convinced. Let me explain.

When I say biological clock, I’m using it as a proxy for biological age, which can be contrasted with chronological age. The latter is simply the amount of time you’ve been alive since your birth, the former is how well your body is functioning (and how youthful you look!) relative to your chronological age (see note 1).

Simply put, the lower your biological age (or the slower your biological clock), the healthier you are and the younger you’ll look.

Obviously, Tom Cruise — whose chronological age is 60 — has a biological age of someone easily 20 or 30 years younger.

Surely I’m not the only one wondering how this warga emas is able to look like a high-school Prom King. What is his “secret” to slowing or even reversing his biological clock?

I’m no scientist but my two sen is that at least part of the answer is his way of life characterised by non-stop physical activity, vibrancy and continuous movement (see note 2).

This is, in fact, good news because it means that, in principle, it isn’t impossible for many of us to slow down our biological clocks too.

Yes, Cruise’s genes probably play a role (but see below). Yes, he probably spends thousands on skin care products. Yes, he can afford world-class chefs who cook him only the healthiest meals.

But there’s simply no denying that his anti-sedentary approach to living is a major reason why his biological clock moves slower than most.

Surely there is a lesson for all of us here, a lesson also demonstrated by other celebrities.

For guys like me, going to the gym is secondary and only when I “have time”; for stars like Donnie Yen (another 60-year-old who wouldn’t look out of place in an Asian version of High School Musical) kung-fu drills and gym exercises are as natural and frequent as wearing shoes.

For most of my colleagues, working out at best is a weekly “have-to-but-hate-to-do” hopefully done fast so we can get back to our reading or Netflix-ing; for folks like Jackie Chan (who, at 68, is still riding speed-boats on raging rivers) jogging three to five miles plus a host of MMA and gym routines are an everyday activity (paused only perhaps if he’s not feeling well).

Apparently, Andy Lau (another 61-year-old warga emas who looks barely middle-aged) even uses time between filming to work on his fitness.

Slowing down our biological clocks, therefore, could be this “simple” yet near-impossible trait for many city folks: Regular and consistent physical workouts and activity.

Tom Cruise, most recently seen in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, is renowned for his ambitious stunt work. — Reuters pic

But is it genetic?

A lot of people, when they look at older-but-still-super-young celebrities like Tom Cruise, immediately suggest that it’s genetic.

You know what, genes probably do play a role. Maybe some of us are lucky enough to have youth-friendly DNA.

But check out what Rose-Anne Kenny writes in her book (which was nominated for a Royal Society’s Science Book Prize last year, reference in Note 1):

“We are born with a fixed number of genes — our DNA — but some of our genes can be switched on or off by factors such as diet, exercise and psychological approach and attitude. This switching on or off is called epigenetics. Biological ageing is defined by epigenetics, which occurs at all ages, and these changes in gene function speed up or slow down cell ageing.” (italics added)

Point is, genes are just one factor, a factor which isn’t immutable and can be influenced by how often you’re running up that hill, lifting those weights or cycling along that jungle trail.

Whatever the case, I think in our humble quest for fitness and longevity, it might help to quit mentioning genes if only because it gives us fewer excuses to get our bodies moving.

The sad obverse of this article is, of course, people in their thirties looking as if they’re two steps away from checking into an old folks’ home.

With Malaysia’s obesity rate not exactly going down, this could be the fate of many as their biological age shoots past their actual years.

Very few of us are going to look decades younger when we’re in our golden years, but if nothing else I believe celebrities like Tom Cruise and Donnie Yen can inspire us to keep our biological clocks running behind our age as per our IC.

So if you’re into badminton once a week, simply adding another session may go a long way. If you’re jogging three kilometres a week, pushing it to nine could make your future selfies look a lot younger.

None of us are likely going to hang out the side of an Airbus in our sixties, but there’s no reason why we can’t slow down that biological clock (see note 3).

Starting now.

* Note 1: Two books which discuss include (the recent) Kenny, R.A. (2022) 'Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life', London: Lagom and (the upcoming) Attia, P (2023) and 'Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity', New York: Harmony.

For your information, Peter Attia was one of the consultants on the recent Disney+ series on longevity with Chris Hemsworth, 'Limitless'.

* Note 2: This hit home when I watched a clip of his mega-stunt for the upcoming 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part 1)'. This stunt has Cruise base-jumping from a motorcycle off a mean-looking cliff in Norway.

In his interview with Jimmy Kimmel, he said he jumped off that cliff eight times; in addition, Cruise did hundreds of sky-dives from helicopters and thousands of jumps with a motorcycle.

Now imagine performing such feats every week for the entire year — wouldn’t that keep anyone looking younger than their age?

* Note 3: A life characterised by physical activity is just one (albeit a major) factor in biological clock reversal. The other factors include what we eat, our attitudes towards life, how we manage stress and so on.

** This is the personal opinion of the columnist.