The Science of Lifespan — and the Impact of Your Five Senses | Christi Gendron | TED

What you experience through your senses — sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch — can impact how healthy you are and how long you live, says neurobiologist Christi Gendron. She explores how environmental cues like temperature, light and even just the sight of death have influenced the lifespan of fruit flies, suggesting your everyday perceptions may have direct repercussions on your ability to live a long, healthy life.

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[denisZsuave]

There's a fruit fly on my screen watching this with me. I hope he learnt something😄

[pbinsb]

Humans have the ability to decide how we perceive aging, ill health and death.
I took care of my dying mother and at the time it felt like it could in fact kill me.
It took all my strength and determination to not let the exhaustion, emotional and physical stress kill me.
Eventually I decided to perceive it as one of the best things I've ever done in my life.

[heatherblume]

This topic is important, i appreciate her research. People experiencing gun violence, famine, mass shootings, war, etc are forced into high terror
, a far cry from the comfort
of a funeral "parlour " Science and research benefits us all.

[ReadingAdam]

Wonder what the implications of this are on people consuming a lot of negativity through the internet. I know I feel a lot "healthier" when I spend less time scrolling through social media.

[michaelharris]

Think about the longest living person documented. She lived to a 121. What did she do for a living? She was a nanny to multiple families then became a nun and worked in out reach until retiring at least 110 yrs old. What have I learned studying ultra long lived people? They have a purpose in life. In the form of a job or business that keeps them active in the community and gives them a reason to get up. Does it have to be religious work? No. I've met miners that worked until 95 and enjoyed it. Ditto for architects and moonshine still makers. Farmers and nazi's, as well. They all had a purpose that got them out of bed in the morning and gave their days meaning. I've known dozens that worked until 65 retired(in relatively good health)and sat down and watched tv and slept in who died 6 months later...usually bitter and angry. Learn from tgese people and choose the life you'd rather live.

[Iiriss]

There are many long lived chaplains and doctors who saw countless deaths throughout their lives.

[dlouise]

I would need more facts and statistics to believe this theory. It didn’t make sense to me. Sitting with my mother right after she died, holding her hand, seeing her at peace was very healing and meaningful for me at age 64. I am
still alive at 74!

[kmarasakatla]

Interesting talk but not a new concept. This is exactly what the ancient Indian Kriya yoga methods are teaching for thousands of years. Less number of breaths leads to less agitation in the mind. Calming the mind cuts the sensory input. That gives the yogis longer lifespan than normal people. Turtle life span is longer than a rat for the same reason.

[aze]

Should be quite easy to check the life span of morticians to see if this theory has any relevance on humans.

[celestialcircledance]

It's funny but I once had a theory that leaving a swatted mosquito on my body would deter other mosquitoes from biting me .Another friend hypothesized that the smell of blood would probably have the opposite effect and in any case it didn't work as well as her quality controlled vial lol .

[coolParadigms]

Totally agree and we have interesting real life examples where imagining the worst leads to the worst! Like The Raft of the Medusa 90% death after 13 days at sea!

[worldmedic]

I think this is more for weak minds. I am a combat veteran who became a nurse. I've seen a lot of death in my years. Over 40, perfect labs, great health, and it hasn't impacted my life or work.

[Newstatejournal]

Excellent! Maybe it has something to do with how the brain hallucinates reality!

[nataliecutler]

I have a question; I appreciate your research, however, you may want to look into how ants might respond to these situations. I am a key person., but I have found, the worst thing you can do is kill an ant … it seems to attract more ants. They seem to be sacrificial animals, that live for the group and not for themselves. This seems like an important issue to factor in when you are considering first responders and those who are serving in the military. It seems as if some animals and insects are self or selfish driven and others are driven my self sacrifice for the good of the group.

I am very interested in what you might have to say about this. I would appreciate a response. Thanks.

[HaErBeSo]

Isn’t being affected by your environment and reacting to it the essence of life? I’m not sure about the value of this research.

[MADBurrus]

What she just showed in advertently and unknowingly is that all lab experiments done on animals are flawed and the results may differ, depending on how the animals lived in an outside, happier environment than it did in an enclosed cage, air conditioned, dark environment.

[DipakGotam]

Tapaskar🌹🇮🇳🙏. Prime numbers and quantum world are connected with our senses.

[aphaileeja]

This isn't an "Aging" study, it's a "death" study, thanks for realizing that living in a place where others are dead sucks, I want a refund

[Mrs.TJTaylor]

Playback speed of 1.25 made this talk tolerable for me.

[masseysubra]

What you are talking about is Hindu Philosophy. As Hindus, we do certain things to get around our "FATE".