4 LEARNINGS FROM 'THE SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY OF GROWING YOUNG'
A book written by Sergey Young
This book offered a lot of actionable items that will help anyone be healthier today, but more importantly Sergey’s vision of the future of longevity science is very exciting and encouraging.
Here are my main takeaways.
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TAKE YOUR HEALTH SERIOUSLY
Sergey explains that if you are under 60 years old you will most certainly benefit from the massive amount of innovation that is currently under development in regenerative medicine today.
He summarises the scientific achievements of the past few years in the longevity space and what we could expect in the near and long term horizons in terms of healthcare.
The amount of investment and research being done in these areas means we will have the opportunity to use what is currently being developed within our lifetime. This alone made me realise how important looking after our health today really is for what is not even available to us yet, but will be within our lifetimes.
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IS LIVING LONGER IMMORAL?
Sergey discusses the potential moral questions that might arise from becoming virtually immortal.
The consequences of a potential human immortality with its impact on population growth, societies, and limited resources is a topic he dives deep into and explains how we actually do not have to worry.
The main takeaway I got from this chapter is that it is a benefit to society and the economy to have populations that are healthier for longer and are living better quality lives.
He also presented data showing how there is a downward trend in terms of population growth for Western and Developed countries, which means the global population will plateau at around 10 billion people allowing more than enough resources globally for everyone to live comfortably.
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HEALTHCARE IS ADVANCING FASTER THAN EVER
Advances in AI diagnosing disease, genetic engineering, tissue regeneration, and increased health data collection is already underway.
Sergey explains different “theories of aging”, and identifies ten specific hallmarks of aging. He explores the near future of DIY diagnostic devices, precision AI medicine, and using new technologies like CRISPR for gene editing. He describes advances in stem cell therapy, tissue regeneration, and new drugs and supplements.
Essentially all of these future advances will lead to even greater advances in lifespan that we cannot even comprehend in this day and age. Sergey mentions bionic limbs, nanobots, avatars, brain emulation, and uploading consciousness as some of the new trends in healthcare in the near future.
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YOU CAN START INCREASING YOUR LONGEVITY TODAY
The last bonus chapter gives a list of 10 things to do right now to help increase your longevity. Some of these things include incorporating supplements into your every day diet, using health tracking devices and getting tests done outside the normal parameters to really take responsibility of your own health and track how you are doing personally.
The most important takeaway, in my opinion, was to start taking your health really seriously today, in order to benefit from the advances mentioned above tomorrow. The healthier you are when they come to market the greater chance you have to really make them work for you.
Invest in your food quality, take time to exercise, place importance and value on the quality of your relationships and friendships, improve sleep quality, stress less and live a fulfilled and joyful life.
