We like to think we could live forever with the right diet and exercise. However, experts have found the maximum human lifespan. It’s shorter than you might think. It’s the biological endpoint where the body just can’t keep going no matter how willing the spirit is.
“Everything has to have a limit. There’s no creature on planet Earth that we know of that doesn’t die at some point,” said Briana Mezuk, the co-director of the Univ. of Michigan’s Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health.
We have had many scientific breakthroughs that have helped us live longer and healthier lives. Despite that, according to a study from Singapore, we still have a biological hard stop. They looked at thousands of blood samples to learn how bodies cope with stress, disease and healing. Their research showed that, as we age, our ability to rebound after injuries and illnesses decreases.
At the age of 40, it takes a person two weeks to recover from a minor health problem. By 80, the recovery process from the same ailment takes six weeks. By 90, it takes over nine weeks. This process is called “physiological resilience,” and it’s the limiter of our lifespan. No medication or breakthrough can overcome it.
From their study, the scientists said the ultimate human lifespan would be 150 years. Even a 150-year-old in perfect health would not be able to recover from a mild infection or tiny injury. It would cause a “total system failure.”
So far, the oldest person has reached 122 years. Her name was Jeanne Calment. The team believes that if we could cure or find a way to entirely prevent chronic diseases and cancer, we could see people living long beyond Mrs. Calment. But, not beyond 150.
“People get exposed to things that accumulate in the body, and the accumulation of those things makes it so, at some point, the body’s just not resilient enough to function,” said Prof. Mezuk. “Even if you imagine the person where they just live in a room and they’re locked there, and they never get any environmental exposures, they’ll die just through biological processes.”
If scientists make breakthroughs in cellular reprogramming, regenerative medicine and biotechnology, people might live past 150. Our bodies could be reprogrammed to go past the threshold. But — as we’re naturally born — if we never get ill or injured and do everything exactly right, we can’t make it past 150.
Most of us won’t make it to 122 like Mrs. Calment. That doesn’t mean you can’t live a long and healthy life. You can stay healthy and happy for many years by following the tried and true health advice. By eating a nutritious diet, exercising, getting the right amount of sleep, not smoking and watching your alcohol intake, you can age well!
