As the study authors recall in the journal Clinical Psychological Science , telomeres are the DNA fragments that protect the end of the chromosomes in which the genetic material is packed, preventing them from deteriorating. They tend to shorten with age, and they do so faster if we are exposed to psychological or physiological stressors . The researchers associate the results with the fact that mindfulness-type meditations, a mindfulness technique developed at the University of Massachusetts that promotes attention to the present moment, is associated with increased activity of the telomerase enzyme, which maintains telomeres " long ". Therefore, paying attention to the present tense could have measurable health repercussions at the cellular level.
People who let their minds wander grow old sooner
The tendency of the mind to wander is related to aging , according to a study from the University of California. Its authors have found that telomere length, a marker that has proven useful in measuring cellular aging, seems to be associated with the tendency to let the mind wander towards thoughts about the past and the future or, simply, "to be elsewhere. " Specifically, people who wander the most have shorter telomeres, which means that aging is accelerated. On the contrary, those who have a greater capacity to be present and pay more attention to the activity they are carrying out at any given moment have the longest telomeres , and with it also more life expectancy.
This is how an hour of walking through nature influences your brain
After a 60-minute walk in nature, activity in brain regions involved in stress processing decreases, a new study concludes.
Feeling alone and unhappy accelerates aging more than tobacco
They conclude that psychological factors, such as feeling unhappy, lonely or desperate, add up to 1.65 years to biological age, more than smoking.
They reveal why the 'immortal jellyfish' lives forever
`'Turritopsis dohrnii' is capable of reversing its life cycle thanks to modifications in the genome related to DNA replication and repair.
Silencing notifications does not make you look less at your mobile (on the contrary)
The fact that we 'turn off' the phone notifications increases what is called 'psychological distress', especially with all those people who always feel 'afraid of missing something important'.
Transition from childhood to adolescence: when children stop being children
One of the most complex moments to face on an emotional level for many is the arrival of adolescence. Specifically, the passage from childhood to adolescence.