The key to keeping youth may be in the 'complexity of the human body'
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There are many people who think that the environment surrounding humans is too complicated and want to live a simple life. However, the fact that even the human body becomes simple is 'a sign of aging,' said Lewis A. Lipsitz, who studies aging at the Harvard Medical School.
Did Henry David Thoreau Know the Secret to Eternal Youth, Or Was He All Wrong?
http://nautil.us/issue/68/context/the-real-secret-of-youth-is-complexity-rp
Lipsitz claims that youthfulness and health are associated with ' complexity ' in many ways. For example, bone strength consists of a fine scaffold of connective tissue, and brain activity consists of a complex network of neurons. Also, even a seemingly simple physical function like the heart beat is made up of the interaction of elements such as metabolism and nerve transmission, gene switches, and circadian rhythms. Lipsitz says that aging causes these complexity to be lost to the human body, and that aging leads to illness.
To understand the complexity of the human body, it is necessary to understand what the word “complex” means scientifically. As an example of something not complicated, Lipsitz takes the Pythagora device as an example. At first glance, a Pythagorean device consisting of a number of tricks looks quite complicated, but actually it only produces a specific output for a specific input pattern, and its behavior is more predictable in scientific terms, It's not complicated. In addition, the system is vulnerable because the device can not function simply by cutting one part along the way.
On the other hand, in 'scientifically complex processes', many mechanisms interact at multiple scales in space and spacetime. Interactions are non-linear, and a particular input does not lead to a particular output, making it unstable and unpredictable. For example, in order to raise a leg, a sense organ grasps a surrounding situation and a nerve sends a signal to a muscle. At this time, muscles create proteins to move their feet, and complex interactions occur, such as energy sugars being sent to places where they are needed. Lipsitz argues that this kind of human work is scientifically complex.
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Lipsitz points out that there are fractal patterns everywhere in the human body. A fractal is a figure that is similar to the part of the figure as a whole, and a certain basic pattern forms the whole form. In the human body, fractal patterns can be seen in arterial, neuronal, bone and bronchial regions, and also in physiological signal fluctuations such as heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, brain waves and hormone secretion other than spatial ones. about.
As the human body ages, the various tissues and functions lose complexity and the fractal patterns diminish, says Lipsitz. For example, it is known that if the fractal density decreases, the human body will be adversely affected, such as the bone becoming brittle and fractures etc. becoming more likely if the complexity in the bone is lost.
Also, it seems that the complexity decreases with aging not only for structural things but also for physiological processes. Average heart rate per minute does not fluctuate much throughout the life, but it seems that there are more subtle heart rate fluctuations from moment to moment when you are younger, and as you age, the heart rate increases It will be more regularly and simpler.
The next image is a graph of human heart rate, with the upper one showing heart rate variability in young people and the lower one showing heart rate variability in older people. Although both have average heart rates of about 64 to 65 per minute, young people have small heart rate fluctuations, while elderly people have moderate heart rate fluctuations. The simplicity of the heart rate is linked to increased heart disease and mortality, as Lipsitz points out, as well as the complexity of neural signals is likely to decrease with aging.
Fortunately, Lipsitz argues that the complexity of the human body can be recovered with effort. Aerobic exercise and training will increase the complexity of your heart rate, and training related to
Similarly, research shows that the more complex social connections are, the more health and well-being gained by people who maintain a wide and diverse network. In order for humans to live better, complexity may be necessary, Lipsitz said.
by Dimitri Dim
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