Pattern of consistent activity and rest may slow aging

• A study shows that middle-aged and older adults with stronger, more regular daily activities and rest show signs of slower biological aging.
• Participants with a clearer distinction between daytime activity and nighttime rest and less fragmented routines had more ‘young’ physical age scores.
• The relationship remained significant even after the researchers accounted for factors including chronological age, gender, education and certain health conditions.
• The findings suggest that rest-activity rhythms could become targets for intervention, potentially using wearable devices or lifestyle changes, aimed at slowing the aging process.

biological aging It reflects how well the body functions as we age, which may not always be the same as a person’s chronological age.

Some people may age more slowly and remain healthy longer, while others may experience faster aging due to multiple factorsLike lifestyle habits.

It is possible to measure aging partially through epigenetic changes. It describes changes in genes without altering the DNA.

Using these patterns, a epigenetic clock Can estimate the biological age of a person. If a person’s epigenetic age is greater than their chronological age, it can suggest There is a higher risk of rapid aging and age-related diseases.

Specifically, increasing research is showing Organization between aging and change circadian rest-activity rhythm. This refers to a person’s natural, approximately 24-hour cycle of being awake and active versus resting and sleeping.

Now, a study published jama network open Added to this evidence is that adults who maintain stronger and more consistent patterns of daily activity and rest may experience slower biological aging.

To measure daily activity patterns, the research team, led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, used wrist-worn devices. actigraphy equipment Continuously for about 7 days.

These devices tracked periods of activity, rest, sleep, and sedentary behavior. Participants also kept sleep and nap logs.

The investigators compared these activity patterns to 4 established epigenetic clocks that estimate biological age using epigenetic markers. The watches used in the study were:

The findings show that individuals with stronger and less fragmented rest-activity rhythms had significantly lower biological age scores on the GrimAge and PhenoAge measures, indicating slower physiological aging.

The relationship remained even after taking into account factors such as chronological age, gender, education level and certain health conditions.

co senior author Brian MaherPhD, MS, a professor in the Bloomberg School’s mental health department, was not surprised by the strength of the associations.

he told medical news today “This is not entirely surprising because GrimAge and PhenoAge are new generation epigenetic clocks that were designed to capture the health risks associated with aging, including mortality risk, disease burden, and physical decline.”

“Since rest-activity rhythms are closely related to overall health, it makes sense that their relationship would be more pronounced in epigenetic clocks that are linked to health and mortality than in clocks that are designed primarily to estimate chronological age.”

-Brian Maher, PhD, MS

Similar trends were seen with Horvath and Hannum watches. However, those findings did not reach statistical significance.

Rest-activity rhythms reflect the body’s broader circadian system. It describes the internal biological processes that regulate sleep, activity, hormone release, metabolism, and other functions around a 24-hour cycle.

As people age, these rhythms often weaken and become more irregular. another fresh one Study The research team has linked weaker and more fragmented rest-activity rhythms to brain shrinkage in older adults.

Therefore, researchers suggest that rest-activity rhythms may become a useful marker of aging, and provide a more meaningful measure of health than chronological age alone. If supported by further research, they may also emerge as potential targets for interventions to slow the aging process.

The lead author of the study was chunyu liuA PhD student supervised by Maher and the other co-senior author, Adam SpiraPhD, MA, is also Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School.

“I think that rest-activity rhythms may be an observable window into circadian regulation, and circadian regulation is not just related to aging — it may be part of the aging process itself,” Liu explained. mnt.

“Moreover, circadian regulation is closely associated with many biological processes involved in aging. Strong circadian rhythmicity may help coordinate these processes, which may be reflected in less epigenetic age acceleration.”
– Chunyu Liu

Spira explained mnt Study shows how measuring wrist motion may reflect disrupted rhythms.

“In this study, we did not directly measure circadian rhythms – we measured wrist movements over a 24-hour period, which is an indirect measure of circadian function. The resulting data also reflect a range of environmental influences, such as exposure to bright light at certain times of the day,” he explained.

Spira said, “Fragmented rhythms represent more frequent, rapid shifts between rest and activity within a day. Fragmented sleep may manifest as fragmented motor activity at night in these rest-activity rhythm metrics.”

“Generally, more continuous, consolidated sleep is thought to be one of several consequences or manifestations of stronger, less fragmented circadian rhythms,” he told us.

While the study highlights the clear distinction between daytime activity and nighttime rest and “youthful” biological aging, the authors emphasize that the study cross sectionalWhich means it examined activity rhythms and biological aging at roughly the same time.

As a result, research cannot determine whether disrupted rhythms contribute to rapid aging, or whether aging weakens circadian patterns. Researchers say long-term studies will be necessary to clarify the direction of the relationship.

They also say that the population that participated in the study may have underestimated the true effect, because participants were healthy enough to take part, while people who experience more rapid aging may have been too unhealthy to take part.

Researchers suggest that wearable technology could eventually help monitor physical aging and other health risks in real time.

“I think it’s possible in the long term,” Liu said. mnt. “Wearable devices are very good at continuously capturing rest and activity patterns over several days or weeks. Those data potentially provide a more reliable picture of daily rhythms than information a healthcare provider can get from a patient during a short clinical visit.”

“However, physiological aging is complex and cannot currently be measured directly in real time by wearables alone,” he added.

“A more realistic near-term use is that wearable-derived rhythm measures could help identify people with disrupted daily patterns who may be at higher risk for aging-related adverse outcomes, and guide earlier lifestyle or clinical interventions,” Liu explained.

The study authors say they hope to conduct future clinical trials examining whether strengthening daily rest-activity rhythms could help slow biological aging.