Why is everything so unfair? For half a life, a person is forced to fight for survival: to look for himself, to win a place in the sun, to take care of his daily bread. And when finally there is an opportunity to take a breath, we find that the sunset is already close. Is it unreasonable?
Just the opposite. Life on earth is subject to logic and strict laws. But sometimes these laws run counter to our interests. Judge for yourself: what is more important for nature - to preserve the life of a particular ant or - to the entire ant community? Of course, the second. And if any individual jeopardizes the existence of the whole species, it will undoubtedly have to be sacrificed.
But what, you ask, can prevent peaceful elderly ants or, say, butterflies? The fact is that over time, for each earthly creature, the life program recorded in the genome changes. This is due to a malfunction in cell division: the longer you live, the more often such failures occur. Sooner or later, the genetic program will change so much that it will be dangerous to inherit it. How nature isolates potential "pests", you guessed it.
Tranquility, ONLY Tranquility
For a normal person who is primarily concerned with his own fate, and only then with the fate of the entire human tribe, this “ingeniously simple” solution to the problem will most likely seem blasphemous. Alas, moral and ethical laws were written only for homo sapiens. The world around us, as we have already said, has its own rules of the game, and we are unable to change them (of course, there were attempts, but they ended very badly). So if you want to prolong your life, you will have to learn to live by the laws of nature.
First of all, it is necessary to understand: what is the reason for aging, what makes the cell change and grow decrepit? Radiation, environmental pollution, alcohol, drugs and all sorts of actions with the prefix "over-" do not have the best effect on our health, and therefore on life expectancy. And yet, in the first place among the negative factors, I would put stress, a violation of psycho-emotional balance.
Professor Gundarev cites an interesting fact in this connection. At the beginning of World War II, the mortality rate of the civilian population increased fourfold compared to the pre-war period. And in 1943, people died only twice as often as in peacetime. As you know, it was in 1943, after the Battle of Stalingrad, that our grandparents had a real hope of victory. The people perked up - and a passionate desire to live was born.
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IF YOUNG WOULD KNOW, IF AN OLD AGE COULD …
So what happens: it is enough to leave the city with its exhaust gases and daily stress, or better - to settle in a pressure chamber, like Michael Jackson, - and life will be long, long? It is not that simple.
It turns out that in "moderate doses" strokes of fate are useful, especially in youth. After all, only overcoming difficulties, fighting for survival, can you learn to defend your rights, cultivate the will to win, courage, determination, perseverance. Such a "school of life" is necessary for each of us. In addition, it is beneficial to nature itself: strong individuals pass on their traits to offspring, and ultimately the vitality of the species community, in our case, of all mankind, increases.
But in adulthood, when a hardened and self-asserted organism has already become tired of the order, a person (like any living creature) should lead a quiet and measured life. Of course, this is not always possible. Sometimes, like it or not, you have to fight for existence. But in old age, the slightest troubles are very exhausting, which means they bring the "X-hour" closer.
CULT OF OLD AGE
By the way, it was noticed that in the wild those representatives of the fauna live much longer, which do not have to resist the aggressive environment until their last breath. Take bats, for example. They have few enemies, food is easy to obtain, and in winter they usually sleep and recuperate. It is not surprising that their age is much longer than that of their "terrestrial" relatives - vole mice, which are constantly concerned that someone's stomach does not become their last haven.
This formula applies to humans as well. The peoples famous for their longevity have a cult of old age. The elderly here are surrounded with care and attention, they always listen to their opinion, in other words, they create a favorable social and psychological environment for the elderly. For example, Abkhazians are a typical long-lived people. Young people are distinguished by their violent disposition, irascibility, and incontinence. Elders, to whom everyone treats with unchanging respect, on the contrary, are proud of their royal calm: petty quarrels and troubles are perceived as unnecessary irritation, which is a pity to waste time and energy.
Daughters-mothers
Let's try to summarize. In youth, life should be in full swing, including over the head, and in adulthood, you should lock yourself in four walls or six hundred square meters, drink seagulls and read the classics. Very nice, however, from the point of view of nature, completely unreasonable. She doesn't care about your past achievements. It is important how you can be useful now.
The laws of evolution are such that only a young individual capable of producing healthy offspring has the right to exist. When the childbearing period ends, you have to free up space. Only those species whose young are born helpless and require many years of care are allowed to live longer.
And here you and me are given an excellent opportunity to outwit nature. It has been established that if a person shows parental feelings to anyone - not necessarily to his own children, you can “adopt” a puppy, a canary, or even a cactus - he has a so-called “mother block” that does not allow the body to turn on the self-destruction program …
According to statistics, women have a higher life expectancy than men. And one of the reasons for natural "injustice" is that the maternal instinct is better developed in the fair sex. They constantly feel the need to take care of someone, to take care of the weak and defenseless. And it does not matter to whom their love is directed - for children, grandchildren or pets. Their "internal counter" receives a signal: this person is needed here and now - and the biological clock slows down.
Just look so that it doesn't work out, as in that joke when an old mother says to her overage daughter: “Well, honey, you are already a pensioner! Now live on your own. " Do not forget that the young should not be led by the hand - otherwise the genus will be weak and unviable. Do you want to help adult children? Share your experience, give wise advice. By the way, mentoring - one of the forms of parental love - also includes a "mother block" with all the ensuing consequences. As you can see, the formula for longevity is not that difficult. It is quite possible to find a compromise between evolutionary design and self-interest. In youth, you need to live for yourself, your beloved, take care of personal growth and development, fill bumps and learn to bear the blows of fate. And in mature years, you should avoid fuss and unnecessary stress, pay more attention to thosewho needs your care and love.
Natalia ZOTOVA, psychologist, biologist