Science Understanding Leads To Healthy Long Life

N. Raghuraman, Management Guru

The beauty of Mumbai is that along with skyscrapers, huts and one-storey ‘chawls’ will also be seen there. The reason for this is that the population serving the rich living in high-rises wants to live close to their place of work, no matter how cramped that space may be.

Recently, when I was sitting in my car during the floods around Powai Lake in Mumbai, I had nothing to do but look at these two paradoxes sitting side by side. I noticed a difference. Most of these houses of the lower middle class and supporting staff had air conditioners installed in the windows or split AC units fitted with mesh on the outer wall.

Similarly, a biker coming out of the house came and stood very close to my car window, so that if the car moved even an inch, he could enter the traffic. I took the opportunity to praise him for arranging all the facilities even in such a small place. ‘Nowadays everything is available on EMI,’ he said.

His answer reminded me of the survey we conducted for Bhaskar Group in 2010. The three best-selling items at that time were smartphones, two-wheelers and air conditioners. And when I looked at central bank data for 2026, all three were still in the same places. Since the car didn’t move for several minutes, I asked him how life was going.

He said that although he has provided all the facilities to his family, the increasing health problems of his aging parents worries him. Then I remembered that I had read that some habits, which we do not even realize, increase our biological age and keep our skin better.

After a research, a recent report published in the UK magazine ‘Science Advances’ and ‘Journal of Aging’ said that taking adequate sunlight in the morning is effective on skin damage, sweating patterns and longevity. Similarly, people do not understand that even just 100 grams of yogurt is good for gut health, which contributes to a healthy and long life. Yogurt reduces aging speed by 2.2%. I remembered this figure because I am South Indian and our meal is not complete without curd-rice. That report made me happy, because curd rice has always been my favorite dish.

But the one thing that caught my attention was a special report on the quality of friends. It was said that friendship generally has a positive effect on biological aging. This provides many benefits like reduced risk of cognitive decline and reduction in depression.

America’s National Institute on Aging warned that spending too much time with ‘combative’ people on social networks increases stress and biomarkers associated with biological aging. The report said that ‘the more such challenging relationships there are in a person’s life, the worse the outcomes can be.’

The bottom line is that There is a science behind every lifestyle – from the way you get out of bed to the way you spend evenings with loved ones. If we understand the science behind every activity then the chances of making life healthy and long increases significantly.

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