In 2019, I came across a striking study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. It revealed that the telomeres of first-year medical interns had shortened six times more than that of other individuals in their 20s over the span of only one year of internship.
“Longer work hours were associated with shorter telomeres, the study found. Telomeres were markedly shorter in interns working 61–74 hours per week and even shorter in those working 75 hours or more” (Brown, 2019, E773).
This meant that working long stressful hours might dramatically increase premature DNA aging! Given that my circumstances as a hospital executive and mother of two had been equally demanding for almost 10 years, I recognized this as the beginning of an explanation for my decreasing levels of wellbeing.
But first, what are telomeres?
The National Human Genome Institute tells us that: “A telomere is a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome. Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from becoming frayed or tangled. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres become slightly shorter. Eventually, they become so short that the cell can no longer divide successfully, and the cell dies” (NIH).
And what happens to our health when telomeres become too short?
“Telomere length shortens with age. Shorter telomeres have been associated with increased incidence of diseases and poor survival” (Shammas, 2011, p.28-34).
So basically, the faster your telomeres shorten, the faster you age and the weaker your immune system is!
And does anything other than working long hours contribute to shortening telomeres?
Yes, there are many other factors! In her book “The Telomere Effect”, Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and co-author Elissa Epel give an in depth explanation of all factors, but for the purpose of this post, I’ll invite us to look at things in a positive and empowering way.
So what can we do to protect our telomeres?
In their chapter “Help your body protect its cells” (Blackburn & Epel, 2017, p. 159), the authors of “The Telomere Effect” present us with a tool to assess our own protective and risk factors. This assessment looks at the following areas, categorizing them either as Wellbeing or Lifestyle (Blackburn & Epel, 2017, p.170):
- Stress exposures
- Clinical emotional distress
- Social support
- Exercise
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Chemical exposures
Once you have gone through all the questions, you are given a score which helps you determine the areas of Wellbeing and Lifestyle you should give more attention to in order to start protecting your telomere’s health!
This assessment was truly eye opening for me, as I realized I had definitely neglected a few areas of Wellbeing, while giving all my attention to Lifestyle. It helped me see that I absolutely needed to make some changes if I wanted to increase my levels of wellbeing and protect my telomeres at the same time!
But what if I want to know my precise biological age? Can a telomere blood test reveal that?
Yes, it can! Some clinics and companies now offer this service for a premium fee. They can easily be found through a quick search online.
Copyright © Aquarian Wellbeing 2024
References
Blackburn, E. H., & Epel, D. E. (2017). The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer. Grand Central Publishing.
Brown, C. (2019, July 8). Stress of first postgraduate year leaves mark at cellular level for medical trainees. CMAJ, 191(27), E773-E774. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.109-5770
NIH. (n.d.). Telomere. National Human Genome Research Institute. https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Telomere
Shammas, M. A. (2011). Telomeres, lifestyle, cancer, and aging. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 14(1), 28-34. National Library of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097%2FMCO.0b013e32834121b1
