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CIRCLE OF LONGEVITY LEVERS

The inner circles are the Circles of Longevity. This level is a simple description of the 16 Levers that comprise the Circle of Longevity. This level is also where the Levers are organized and their interdependent relationships understood and diagramed for each individual client to see. It is essential that these 16 Levers are pulled with the proper frequency, intensity, duration, sequence, and the proper timing to achieve the best results.

Optimizing a Growth Mindset…
A Learners Mind

We believe that personal growth requires both vision and envisioning, along with asking bigger questions. While educational levels are tied to health and longevity, we have found that a lifelong learner that ask questions that lead to new insights and solutions has the best longevity. Our growth mindset of health and longevity can be found in our questions and not our current answers.

Optimizing
Our Mental, Relational, and Spiritual Health

Nurturing connections are vital for our mental health and longevity, but feelings of isolation and disconnection can arise and create anxiety, fear, depression, and addiction. Different outcomes can be expected when acting from a place of isolation vs. a place of connection. To improve outcomes, we will work to address any psychic or spiritual pain in a nurturing manner and work to create happiness from within spiritual connections.

Unhealthy Stress Management, Mitigation & Elimination

Hermetic stress makes us stronger. Continuous or excessive, emotional and physical stress makes us sick, weak, and can dramatically increase our rate of aging and decline.

Optimizing
Hormetic Stress

Our bodies, minds, and spirits thrive on novelty and being challenged. Hormetic stress comes in many forms: exercise, fasting, cold exposure, heat exposure, etc. These “manageable” stresses provide stimuli that makes us stronger, younger, healthier, and more capable. Optimizing these stressors on a regular basis is essential for health and youthfulness.

Optimizing Our Regenerative Potential

Without any intervention, we will naturally lose speed as we age. Our fast twitch muscle fibers atrophy and our neuromuscular signaling begin to slow. Using our strategies, this loss of speed can be effectively managed and even reversed.

Optimizing Our Genomic Stability

Our genome comes under many insults both exogenous and endogenous. Optimizing our genetic repair mechanisms is key to reducing our rate of aging and overall decline.

Minimizing Our Genetic Liabilities

Understanding our genetic liabilities well before they manifest themselves is a key component of any preemptive actions we may take to minimize the impact of our genetics.

Optimizing Our Genetic Assets

It essential that we understand our genetic assets so that we can better define and then leverage those assets in beneficial ways that increase our longevity.

Optimizing Our Telomere Lengths

Dr. Hayflick would be extraordinarily proud of our emerging abilities to optimize our telomere lengths and lower our telomeric age. Doing so is a key element for us to break the 120 years of life barrier.

Optimizing Our Epigenetic Age
& Rate of Aging

Just as telomeres function as a biological clock for our cells, so are methylation and acetylation a function of our DNA complex. Effective strategies now exist to lower our DNA Age and prolong healthy life.

Optimizing Our
Immune Function
Age

Loss of immune function or “immunosenescence” is a key element of the aging process. Our immune systems peak in our late twenties and early thirties and steadily decline thereafter. We now have overlapping and intertwined levers to pull to rejuvenate our immune system.

Optimizing
Our
Proteostasis

The accumulation of abnormal and dysfunctional proteins is a major contributor to aging and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It is critical that we understand the genetics of protein folding as well as proteomics to improve our longevity.

Optimizing Our
Nutrient Sensing across 4 areas

  1. Glucose sensing: Insulin and IGF-1, collectively known as the IIS system
  2.  Amino Acid sensing: mTOR - mTOR activation is essential for life and for healing and strength
  3. AMP/ATP ratio sensing: AMPK - This is one of the energy sensing systems.
  4.  NAD/NADH ratio sensing Sirtuins - Another energy sensing system that declines with age.

Optimizing Our Mitochondrial
Function

Yes, mitochondria are the factories where energy is produced, but they are also the sentinels for any insult we incur. They are able to trigger the bodies cellular defense response, apoptosis, and cause the death of dysfunctional cells. They also play a role in malignant cell transformation. We have many insights to optimize their function.

Optimizing Our Senescent Cell Populations and Secretory Status

Senescent cells help us heal but as cells age or accumulate damage they are put into a quiescent state where they no longer divide. Worse yet, these cells can become secretory senescent cells that spew inflammatory and toxic cytokines that poison the environment for healthy cells. Pruning senescent cells is a key longevity strategy especially when integrated with the other levers.

Optimizing
Our
Stem Cell Function
& Self-Renewal

It is said that we ultimately die because we can’t renew our tissues anymore due to stem cell exhaustion. Our stem cells, or progenitor cells, are necessary to rebuild damage tissue. Maintaining this capacity is critical and optimizing the other levers to facilitate optimal stem cell activity.

Optimizing Our
Intracellular Communication
& Inflammation

Disregulation of intracellular communication appears to be a function of several events:
  • A positive feedback loop of aging and increased inflammation as known as, “Inflammaging”
  • Enhanced immunosurveillance against pathogens and premalignant cells
  • The altered composition of the peri and extracellular environments.

While these changes can dramatically contribute to the acceleration of aging, we can address them through the pulling on the Levers in the Circle of Longevity.

Optimizing
Our
Circadian
Rhythm

Fundamental to our biology and our health is the ebb and flow of activity. It is based on our 24 day, the rotation of the earth. Being awake and sleeping are the most obvious circadian cycle, however this cycle runs deep in our biology and psychology and needs to be considered with every recommendation, action and pull of all the other levers.

Optimizing a Growth Mindset…
A Learners Mind

We believe that personal growth requires both vision and envisioning, along with asking bigger questions. While educational levels are tied to health and longevity, we have found that a lifelong learner that ask questions that lead to new insights, experiences and solutions has the best longevity. At Gladden Longevity, our growth mindset of health and longevity can be found in our questions and not our current answers.

Optimizing Our Mental, Relational, & Spiritual Health

Nurturing connections are vital for our mental health and longevity, but feelings of isolation and disconnection can arise and create anxiety, fear, depression, and addiction. Different outcomes can be expected when acting from a place of isolation vs. a place of connection. To improve outcomes, we will work to address any psychic or spiritual pain in a nurturing manner and work to create happiness from within spiritual connections.

Unhealthy Stress Management, Mitigation & Elimination

Hermetic stress makes us stronger. Continuous or excessive, emotional and physical stress makes us sick, weak, and can dramatically increase our rate of aging and decline.

Optimizing
Hormetic Stress

Our bodies, minds, and spirits thrive on novelty and being challenged. Hormetic stress comes in many forms: exercise, fasting, cold exposure, heat exposure, etc. These “manageable” stresses provide stimuli that makes us stronger, younger, healthier, and more capable. Optimizing these stressors on a regular basis is essential for health and youthfulness.

Optimizing Our Regenerative Potential

To Live “well” beyond 120, it is not enough to simply slow the aging process. We must identify technologies and techniques that allow us to regenerate and reclaim our younger biology. I believe given the complexity of our biology that there is not one one magic answer, but that pulling this lever effectively will be done inside a circle of interconnected levers that work together.

Optimizing Our Genomic Stability

Our genome comes under many insults both exogenous and endogenous. Optimizing our genetic repair mechanisms is key to reducing our rate of aging and overall decline.

Minimizing Our Genetic Liabilities

To Live “well” beyond 120, it is not enough to simply slow the aging process. We must identify technologies and techniques that allow us to regenerate and reclaim our younger biology. I believe given the complexity of our biology that there is not one one magic answer, but that pulling this lever effectively will be done inside a circle of interconnected levers that work together.

Optimizing
Our Genetic Assets

To Live “well” beyond 120, it is not enough to simply slow the aging process. We must identify technologies and techniques that allow us to regenerate and reclaim our younger biology. I believe given the complexity of our biology that there is not one one magic answer, but that pulling this lever effectively will be done inside a circle of interconnected levers that work together.

Optimizing Our Telomere Lengths

Dr. Hayflick would be extraordinarily proud of our emerging abilities to optimize our telomere lengths and lower our telomeric age. Doing so is a key element for us to break the 120 years of life barrier.

Optimizing Our Epigenetic Age & Rate of Aging

Just as telomeres function as a biological clock for our cells, so are methylation and acetylation a function of our DNA complex. Effective strategies now exist to lower our DNA Age and prolong healthy life.

Optimizing Our
Immune Function
Age

Loss of immune function or “immunosenescence” is a key element of the aging process. Our immune systems peak in our late twenties and early thirties and steadily decline thereafter. We now have overlapping and intertwined levers to pull to rejuvenate our immune system.

Optimizing
Our
Proteostasis

The accumulation of abnormal and dysfunctional proteins is a major contributor to aging and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s. It is critical that we understand the genetics of protein folding as well as proteomics to improve our longevity.

Optimizing Our Nutrient Sensing across 4 areas

  1. Glucose sensing: Insulin and IGF-1, collectively known as the IIS system
  2.  Amino Acid sensing: mTOR - mTOR activation is essential for life and for healing and strength
  3. AMP/ATP ratio sensing: AMPK - This is one of the energy sensing systems.
  4.  NAD/NADH ratio sensing Sirtuins - Another energy sensing system that declines with age.

Optimizing Our Mitochondrial Function

Yes, mitochondria are the factories where energy is produced, but they are also the sentinels for any insult we incur. They are able to trigger the bodies cellular defense response, apoptosis, and cause the death of dysfunctional cells. They also play a role in malignant cell transformation. We have many insights to optimize their function.

Optimizing Our Senescent Cell Populations and Secretory Status

Senescent cells help us heal but as cells age or accumulate damage they are put into a quiescent state where they no longer divide. Worse yet, these cells can become secretory senescent cells that spew inflammatory and toxic cytokines that poison the environment for healthy cells. Pruning senescent cells is a key longevity strategy especially when integrated with the other levers.

Optimizing Our
Stem Cell Function
& Self-Renewal

It is said that we ultimately die because we can’t renew our tissues anymore due to stem cell exhaustion. Our stem cells, or progenitor cells, are necessary to rebuild damage tissue. Maintaining this capacity is critical and optimizing the other levers to facilitate optimal stem cell activity.

Optimizing Our
Intracellular Communication
& Inflammation

Disregulation of intracellular communication appears to be a function of several events:
  • A positive feedback loop of aging and increased inflammation as known as, “Inflammaging”
  • Enhanced immunosurveillance against pathogens and premalignant cells
  • The altered composition of the peri and extracellular environments.

While these changes can dramatically contribute to the acceleration of aging, we can address them through the pulling on the Levers in the Circle of Longevity.

Optimizing Our
Circadian
Rhythm

Fundamental to our biology and our health is the ebb and flow of activity. It is based on our 24 day, the rotation of the earth. Being awake and sleeping are the most obvious circadian cycle, however this cycle runs deep in our biology and psychology and needs to be considered with every recommendation, action, and pulling of all the other levers.

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