We're all on the hunt for ways to slow down the ageing process, whether it's through exercise, diet or over-the-counter products.
But one doctor believes he may have stumbled upon a crucial tool in the battle to stay healthy as we get older - and it's been around for millennia. Dr Michael Mosley has delved into research suggesting that yoga not only boosts strength and flexibility but also enhances mood and reduces stress and anxiety - and it could even 'delay or slow down the rate of cellular ageing'.
As part of his Just One Thing podcast on the BBC, Dr Mosley explored the history and health benefits of yoga. Yoga has been practised for at least 5000 years, but it only gained global popularity in the 19th century when photographs allowed the various movements and poses to be easily shared worldwide. While there are many different types of yoga, five well-known variants stand out - Vinyasa, Astanga, Hatha, Iyengar, and Hot Yoga, reports Wales Online.
Dr Mosley focused on Hatha yoga and discovered astonishing results. He said: "Yoga is an ancient practice for the body and mind that can boost strength and flexibility. There are many different types of yoga practices, but generally it involves physical poses, breath control and meditation. Regular practice has shown to lower chronic inflammation, which could help reduce depression and anxiety, and some exciting new research suggests it could even benefit you at a cellular level."
Yoga could delay or slow down the rate of cellular ageing (Getty Images)"There is some really interesting research that suggests that doing regular yoga can lower chronic inflammation which is linked to heart disease and cancer and also doing yoga can boost your mood, which might help you with motivation and get you going in other areas of activity. Research shows that this mind-body intervention really does come with a wide range of health benefits."
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A German study in 2018 organised three groups of people who, for 10 weeks, either practiced yoga, participated in sports, or did nothing. Brain scans found a significant increase in the grey matter density of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with learning and memory.
In another pilot study held in 2017, participants with mild or moderate depression were divided into two groups: one group engaged in yoga, whilst the other group studied the history of yoga for 90 minutes twice a week over an eight-week span. The results indicated that 60% of the yoga group was no longer clinically depressed after the trial period, while there was only a 10% improvement among the history group.
A recent review found that yoga can help reduce stress hormone levels and regulate our body's stress response. The NHS even endorses it, saying: "Yoga focuses on strength, flexibility and breathing to boost physical and mental wellbeing. There's some evidence that regular yoga practice helps people with high blood pressure, heart disease, aches and pains (including lower back pain), depression and stress."
Dr Mosley added: "These effects, along with lower levels of inflammatory markers, are thought to be the main reasons behind yoga's impact on anxiety and depression. Yoga might also boost our mitochondrial function. Mitochondria are tiny power units that live inside our cells and provide us with energy. The better they are working, the better you function."
Compelling research suggests it can also help slow down the ageing process. Dr Mosley spoke to professor Rima Dada, from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. She explained: "Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells so they produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is energy."
"As mitochondria tends to accumulate mutations and variations they produce less ATP and that is actually the cause of functional decline of tissue and that is how we start to age. Through our studies, we have found yoga can improve the mitochondrial integrity as well as the nuclear DNA integrity."
"If the mitochondrial integrity improves, it produces more ATP, more energy and thereby you can slow down the functional decline of the tissues. If we can improve the mitochondrial integrity, decrease the oxidative stress and inflammation, enhance the total anti-oxidant capacity by yoga, we can actually delay or slow down the rate of cellular ageing, thereby reducing our biological age."
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