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Julia has been studying the effects of music and sound on behaviour and wellness for 30 years. The first book helped in boosting a surge of interest in this area and became a unique music-based wellness programme run at offices of some of the largest companies in the world. As an academic her PhD, MSc, MBA, PG Cert and BA (Hons) studies and research all examined various aspects of neuroscience and psychology. She began her professional career as a Sport & Exercise Psychologist and Physiologist in the early 1990s, working with Olympic squads. All of Dr Jones’s advice is grounded in science, she says, even if many of the experiments have so far only been carried out on mice. “Leading longevity scientists I meet at conferences are already doing these things themselves, because they have the conviction that what they’re seeing in mice – the reversing of biological age at a cellular level – holds true, even if there have not yet been sufficient human trials,” she says. “We should be able to live healthily to 100 – that’s the aim.”
There is no reason why most humans can’t live to 100, says Dr Julia Jones, bluntly. The neuroscientist and author is annoyed that on a recent longevity predictor test, her healthy life expectancy came out at “only” 97. If you have any kind of sleep monitoring device, you can see that when you drink at night you tend to go into a deep sleep, but it’s not natural sleep,” she says. You’re activating those three pathways that keep the cells clean and operating well. If you’re eating dinner at 8pm and getting up at 6am or 7am to eat breakfast, you’re never in the fasted state that allows that process to happen. Humans never used to eat this often – our ancestors weren’t munching all day long.” and operating well. If you’re eating dinner at 8pm and getting up at 6am or 7am to eat breakfast, you’re never in the fasted state that allows that process to happen. Humans never used to eat this often — our ancestors weren’t munching all day long.” Jones eats within an eight-hour window Monday to Friday and relaxes it at the weekends. Having your window from 7/8am to 3/4pm also works but is harder to achieve. Don’t drink alcohol less than three hours before sleep This is to preserve and improve the quality of sleep, a key to longevity. “If you have any kind of sleep monitoring device you can see that when you drink at night you tend to go into a deep sleep, but it’s not natural sleep,” she says. “You’re increasing the levels of the brain chemical GABA — essentially putting the brain to sleep. That fake sleep isn’t healthy and it disrupts the quality.” Jones says she doesn’t tend to drink during the week and no longer drinks to unwind late in the evening. Persevere with kombucha and kimchiThe piece of advice that really resonated with me was to make one lifestyle change at a time, and not to attempt to incorporate them all at once. I thought I would struggle with the concept of consuming 30 different plants per week. then I sat down and made a list of all those I like It came to 38 fruits and vegetables. 30 pans out at only 4.5 per day... fewer than the recommended 5-a-day. I'm already doing it. I already walk as much as I can. I just need to try walking uphill. The breathwork, meditation, gratitude, cold showers and the rest will take a bit more work. But as I keep reminding myself, one change at a time.
Jones, who began her career as a sports and exercise physiologist and psychologist working with Olympic squads, and later studied applied neuroscience at King’s College London, has been researching optimum wellness for 30 years. The trouble is, she says, we’re mostly doing the wrong things at the moment: prioritising physical fitness over wellness at a cellular level. What’s now considered vital for longevity is controlling inflammation in your cells. “Biological ageing is an inflammation- related process, and continuous low-grade inflammation is now known to be at the core of pretty much all our health problems. It happens over decades and is completely invisible until it erupts in physical symptoms that then result in a diagnosis, such as cardio-metabolic conditions, neurodegenerative diseases or cancer.” Oxytocin is now thought to be one of the most powerful longevity chemicals and you get that from being among friends, being in a loving relationship and spending time with your pets,” she says. “When dogs and their humans gaze into each other’s eyes the oxytocin levels in both parties can rise significantly. Oxytocin has a calming effect and can reduce feelings of fear, loneliness and anxiety and the underlying chronic release of harmful stress chemicals.” Jones offers an eight-week programme to embed the lifestyle changes she advocates; several thousand have completed it online, many as part of corporate sign-ups. Her GlycanAge score is 51, very close to her actual age of 52. Middle-aged women often have high scores, she says, because of the menopause (inflammation can increase due to the decline in oestrogen). It’s why she is desperate for women in their forties and fifties to get on top of their daily habits as early as possible. “Many women I test in their early fifties come out in their mid-sixties unless they’re on HRT, so as someone who is combating declining oestrogen I’m pretty happy with a score of 51.” Try delaying your breakfast till 11am to extend your overnight fasting period. Image: Getty Rule 1: Delay having breakfast till 11amListening to loud music stimulates the nervous system when it produces “the chills”, and when experienced with others you get the added longevity benefit from social interaction. Listening to music before bed can slow down breathing and improve sleep quality. “Our brainwaves synchronise to musical rhythms, which makes music a great metronome, enabling us to influence the release of brain chemicals and the activation of brain networks,” Jones says. “And of course, learning a musical instrument is proven to be one of the best ways of slowing cognitive decline and building new brain connections. Music really is a super-tool.” Eat 30 different plants each week As an academic her PhD, MSc, MBA, PG Cert and BA (Hons) studies and research all examined various aspects of neuroscience and psychology. She began her professional career as a Sport & Exercise Psychologist and Physiologist in the early 1990s, working with Olympic squads.
Scientists have discovered pathways in our cells that help to suppress that inflammation and can slow the ageing process. The key players — or the ones we know about so far — associated with those pathways are the enzymes AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase) and mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), and sirtuins; proteins that play vital roles in cell repair and cell metabolism. “They’re like the house- keepers who help the epigenome maintain its function — cleaning the cells of waste products, and making sure there’s no damage,” Jones says. Dr Jones is an exceptionally good advert for everything she preaches. She weighs the same as she did in her 20s, having dropped six kilograms as a by-product of changing her habits, and hopes the next time she tries the longevity calculator (at apps.bluezones.com) she’ll get to 100. You’re increasing the levels of the brain chemical GABA– essentially putting the brain to sleep. That fake sleep isn’t healthy and it disrupts the quality.” Dr Jones says she doesn’t tend to drink during the week and no longer drinks to unwind late in the evening. Smart advice for the wellness-seekers among us. Gratitude is an easy way to boost positive brain chemicals and produce a calming effect, activating the parasympathetic nervous system — the rest and repair branch of our autonomic nervous system that stems the release of stress chemicals,” Jones says. “I sit with my dog Charlie for my first coffee of the day and list the good things in my life. Some people worry they have to come up with a different list every day but it doesn’t really matter what you’re being grateful for. As long as you’re doing it intentionally and not running through in your head all the things you need to do when you get to the office, it still has that benefit.”Why would someone who’s physically fit come out with such poor readings? “We’ve put so much emphasis on cardiovascular fitness in the past few decades,” Jones says. She was a sports and exercise scientist in the Nineties and helped to launch a chain of gyms, so advocated exactly that. “But fitness and wellness are not the same thing. You can be fit but not well, as measured by what state your cells are in.”
Partial to an evening glass of wine or G&T? Jones suggests having it a minimum of three hours before bed. This is to preserve and improve the quality of sleep, a key to longevity.Incidentally, pets are very good for the gut microbiome too, because you’re exposed to extra bacteria.” Dr Jones, who began her career as a sports and exercise physiologist and psychologist working with Olympic squads, and later studied applied neuroscience at King’s College London, has been researching optimum wellness for 30 years. The trouble is, she says, we’re mostly doing the wrong things at the moment: prioritising physical fitness over wellness at a cellular level. What’s now considered vital for longevity is controlling inflammation in your cells. So the big question is: why would someone who’s physically fit come out with such poor readings? “We’ve put so much emphasis on cardiovascular fitness in the past few decades,” says Dr Jones. She was a sports and exercise scientist in the ’90s and helped to launch a chain of gyms, so she advocated exactly that. “But fitness and wellness are not actually the same thing. You can be fit but not well, as measured by what state your cells are in.”