The #1 antidote to aging | Daniel Lieberman, Morgan Levine & more

5 health experts, including Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman, share the exact ways exercise can lead to a healthier lifespan.

In this interview, health experts Eric Kandel, Daniel Lieberman, Morgan Levine, Jillian Michaels, and Wendy Suzuki discuss the controllable nature of aging, citing how exercise can lead to a healthier lifespan. They highlight the specific ways exercise can reduce memory loss, prevent diseases, and maintain overall health.

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About the speakers:

► Dr. Eric Kandel is University Professor and Fred Kavli Professor and Director of the Kavli Institute for Brain Science at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Kandel's research has shown that learning produces changes in behavior by modifying the strength of connections between nerve cells, rather than by altering the brain's basic circuitry. He went on to determine the biochemical changes that accompany memory formation, showing that short-term memory involves a functional modulation of the synapses while long-term memory requires the activation of genes and the synthesis of proteins to grow new synaptic connections. For this work, the Austrian-born Kandel was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

► Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lieberman loves teaching and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, many in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, as well as three popular books, The Evolution of the Human Head (2011), The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease (2013), and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding (2020).

► Morgan Levine was previously a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the department of Pathology at Yale University where she ran the Laboratory for Aging in Living Systems. In 2022, she was recruited to join Altos Labs as a Founding Principal Investigator at the San Diego Institute of Science. She currently leads a research group at Altos Labs working at the intersection of bioinformatics, cellular biology, complex systems, and biostatistics with the overall goal of understanding the molecular trajectories aging cells, tissues, and organisms take through time.

► Jillian Michaels is a fitness expert and wellness coach with over 20 years experience, and is a New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Master Your Metabolism, Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life, and her most recent The 6 Keys: Unlock Your Genetic Potential for Ageless Strength, Health, and Beauty. Jillian's passion for fitness training originates from 17 years of martial arts practice in Muay Thai and Akarui-Do, in which she holds a black belt.

► Dr. Wendy A. Suzuki is a Professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. She received her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Human Anatomy at the University of California, Berkeley in 1987, studying with Prof. Marion C. Diamond, a leader in the field of brain plasticity. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from U.C. San Diego in 1993 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health before accepting her faculty position at New York University in 1998. Dr. Suzuki is author of the book Healthy Brain, Happy Life: A Personal Program to Activate Your Brain and Do Everything Better.

[dunnowy]

Honestly, I started seriously exercising about two years ago and it's changed my life completely. I feel so much better. I don't dread exercise, I look forward to it. It makes me feel good, I feel stronger, I feel more capable, more confident...and it's all the result of a blood test that told me my sugar was way too high.

[alphabeta]

3:10 Lifespan vs healthspan
6:50 Hippocampus; prefrontal cortex
8:00 Stress = Repair/maintenance
9:00 Bone mass
10:00 150 mins/week
10:55 Finding your why
12:30 Doable goals

[zaddyzach]

Only 20 years old but I swear that walking a lot and doing yoga has not only made me feel physically amazing but also mentally!

[lotuseater]

I started going to gym this month. 5 day, 1 day break, and then again. 1 hr min each day.
So far, I feel better than before. I feel alive.

[bleu]

key takeaways:
1. the end goal of aging slower is not to solve death but to maintain a healthy functioning of the body and brain for as long as possible.
2. exercise is the key to maintain a healthy infrastructure of the body annnnd the brain.
3. how to build a habit of exercise?
- visit and link the habits (applicable to any habit u r trying to build) to your “whys”.
- broaden your definition of “exercise”, seize every opportunity in daily life to squeeze a bit of physical movement

[jakejakobz]

Some is better than none. Just keep moving folks, you got this.

[fietsenOveral]

I had a typical US childhood ferried from door-to-door in the back seat of car; I got my license at 17. However, when I went to college it totally changed how I looked at exercise. I suddenly walked to everything and my car sat unused for weeks at a time at the edge of campus. At my first internship I lived in a city for the first time and later saw many of my co-workers at another gig bike to work on the only trail in the region. I became determined to make exercise not a boxed activity, but an intrinsic part of my life.

Of course when I graduated it was an uphill battle to realize this goal. I got a job in an exurban area and the few places I could walk or bike were generally unpleasant or terrifying (I often rode in the shoulder of an 8 lane arterial). On my next job I moved to an inner suburb, and things we're a bit better, but it got to the point where I realized what I was trying to do was a political statement. I was frequently in tense or life threatening situations and the target of aggression and harassment, mostly from people in cars.

While this may not be encouraging for some, I ultimately decided to leave the US for good. I now live in northern Europe and walk or bike for basically every daily trip all year around. While some people still live behind a steering wheel here, active living is the norm for many people and I and my partner feel very safe and supported in that by the way things are set up here. I know we'll be able to live this way both when we have kids and well into our old age.

[salahalkhalifa]

Iam 75yrs old doing all
lkind of excercise for 40yrs. Based on my long experience as y get older u need to concentrate much to strengthen your legs flexibility and balance cos these fade away first and destroy ur life. Trainging other body part such as chest arms ect. is a bonus

[geoffreynewland]

I’m 8 and since I started exercising I feel so much younger; it’s like I’m 4 again! I’m going to start fasting in the new year to try to get to 2 🤞🏼

[solarsailer]

The most expensive thing you own is your health. Treasure it ! My father instilled in me long distance running when I was in middle school. Absolutely hated it for the first 6 years . However when I got mid high school and college I realized how beneficial it was not only for my physical health but mental ! Life can get stressful and you need a way to release that stress. Wish you all a healthy, happy and long life !

[JamanWerSonst]

Eat good food, walk and ride a bike, don't work too much.
And don't listen to snake oil salesmen on the internet.

[nonewherelistens]

The best exercise is the one you willingly do every day without prodding. It could be walking, dancing, biking, team sports, etc... You have to enjoy it.

[AnuBlossom]

The video couldn't have come to me at a more appropriate time. I was almost about to give up going to the gym because of other stressors in my life - despite the fact that my mind felt instantly better after a workout at the gym.

Now I plan to renew my membership. The video gave me a better perspective of how to approach exercise. Thank you!

[iloveyellow]

I have. A traumatic brain injury. Seeing this nd remembering what Ms. Wendy Suzuki said in her TED Talk rings.
Plus this. Thank you

Happy sunday from Manila 😘

[PrtyNeal]

I have been exercising constantly for 12 years. Next year i turn 40. Physically I feel and look closer to 25

[Lpushman]

Im 51. I started Boxing. First month was hell. Today I feel Awesome

[LazyGrayFx]

Whether it does or does not prolong longevity, being sedentary and leading generally unhealthy lifestyle surely shortens it. My grandfather died in 40’s from aneurysm. He was brutally strong and stocky but loved beer and had high blood pressure when drinking, one day he dropped. My father, also brutally strong stocky man, loved pasta and cigarettes to excess, one day he dropped from untreated heart disease none of us knew about. My grandma who is 95 and her two brothers who lived to mid 90’s were moderately active, had a broad diet and didn’t overindulge anything in excess. For me, life matters so long as I can live a quality life, which to me is having a sound mind, being mobile and eat quality food. I buy cheaper things and more expensive food. Will it work? No idea, but it’s within my control to do everything I can.

[t-dawg]

Perhaps this will help/inspire: I'm 54, I've been doing karate as realistic self-defense for the street (not sport/competition karate), for about 15 years, and I've exercised once to three times a week continuously since about age 23. Strength training is a big part of my personal training as well as for karate. Yesterday, after a kettlebell workout in the back yard, I walked down the concrete steps to the basement of our apartment building. I was not careful in that I didn't think about the slipperiness of the steps due to all the rain and leaves there. My feet suddenly flew upwards and for an instant, I was in midair. I landed directly on my butt, then the right elbow. The violence of the fall startled me, and the pain was, to say the least, intense. (Have to add here that it is thanks to karate training that I kept my head up during the fall so that it would not also land on the concrete.) Yet, I stood up immediately and walked off the pain. I'm sure than a person who doesn't exercise and do strength training regularly would have had to spend weeks to months in the hospital after such a violent fall. Honestly, right after the fall, I would not have been surprised if I'd broken my elbow, yet, today I don't even feel any pain there. My bottom feels sensitive, but doesn't hurt either. This whole incident reminded me of what someone once told me what his doctor had told him. Your body or your frame, ie the muscles and the bones, also serve as protection from such injuries. They prevent damage to the organs. It's a rush when you experience the validity of something that you've been told to believe. It's mind-blowing when that experience is so potentially dangerous and violent. Cheers.

[D.von.N]

My third and last input: I can confirm that exercise rejuvenates us. Personal experience. After walking on the treadmill for like 45 minutes, at night, I lay down for 5-10 minutes on the floor and enjoy the feeling. Then stretching and range of movement exercise for my joints. It is so rewarding when I stress my joints and stretch muscles, I am literally looking forward that feeling. Then some core strength exercises, then a few push ups for arms strengthening... I go to sleep almost in extasy. Exercise feels good. They could have mentioned the antioxidant ubiquinone we produce when exercising. That could help people motivating them more.

[SexPot]

This is great info and I am also concerned about cellular health beyond exercise; I will see what else you have about aging related nutrition, stress, pollution and other external factors.