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Exercise is an obvious and proven wellness essential. Not just for cultivating a healthy brain and body, but also for maintaining peace of mind. Luckily, whether you prefer pilates, yoga, surfing, spinning, swimming, or all of the above, there is no shortage of workout options from which to create your personalized movement plan.
But recently, one exercise in particular has been receiving renewed traction among fitness enthusiasts and wellness influencers. That exercise? Running. While not a “new” sport by any means, the benefits of running have become clearer by the decade—especially as more research reveals that running may delay cellular aging by several years. That’s right: Running could keep you young!
The anti-aging effects of running
We’ve all seen studies that show that exercise reduces the risk of disease and mortality. But researchers from the Department of Exercise Sciences at Brigham Young University took it further. Their goal: To identify the actual impact of exercise on cellular vitality. Published in the magazine Preventive Medicine, their study reveals the influence of telomere length on cellular aging.
What’s a “telomere” you may ask? Good question. Telomeres are the little structures or cap at the end of a chromosome that protect genetic information from degradation. But much like everything else, telomeres age, too: As time passes, they shorten. This can lead to cellular senescence—a process where cells stop dividing but do not die—triggering oxidative stress and inflammation that leads to biological aging and chronic diseases.
Exercise five times a week
What does all this have to do with running? Well, researchers in the aforementioned BYU study found that regular exercise can actually preserve the length of your telomeres. “Adults with high levels of physical activity—the equivalent of 30 to 40 minutes of running per day, five days per week—had significantly longer telomeres than their counterparts,” the study finds.
In other words, running for half an hour five times a week will keep those all-important telomeres long. But that’s not all: The study also managed to quantify the influence of exercise on cellular vitality, stating that “adults with high activity have a nine-year biological advantage over sedentary adults.”
Jogging vs running
Nine years! That’s a lot. But better yet, the study found that you don’t even have to run super hard or fast to reap the youth-preserving benefits. According to research, jogging for 30 to 40 minutes counts as “highly active”—you just have to do it consistently. “If you want to see a real difference in slowing your biological aging, it appears that a little exercise won’t cut it,” Dr. Larry Tucker, PhD, who led the study, notes. “You have to work out regularly at high levels.” Stick to five days a week to receive the results.
If ever you needed inspiration to hit the treadmill—or, better yet, join a run club—consider this it. Your telomeres will thank you.