Essential Science: Secret to Living Longer is more "rest"
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The research stems from Harvard Medical School (Blavatnik Institute). Here scientists have gathered new evidence which demonstrates that the key to living longer is to get a good amount of sleep.The research focus is with epigenetics. Scientists mapped changes in gene expression in people who died between 60 and 100 years old. The purpose was to understand how changes in gene expression correlated to longevity. Epigenetics is about the study of heritable phenotype changes that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. This includes the effects on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits arising from external or environmental factors. The data analysis revealed a pattern. In terms of longevity, people who died over the age of 85 showed suppressed neural excitement (a term for the constant flicker of electrical currents and transmissions in the brain). In contrast, those who passed away at a younger age showed higher levels of neural excitement.
