Hey baby, do you dig older men?
Showing off to impress women at the bar may net you a few potential hookups, but it could also make you age a lot quicker—and screw up your sperm—according to a new study in Ecology Letters.
For evidence, look to the houbara bustard, a desert bird that spends 6 months of every year putting on extravagant displays to attract mates. Researchers have observed the showiest male birds produce the highest-quality sperm at first but pass their prime faster than their more restrained rivals, producing abnormal and dead sperm at a younger age—a bad sign for their overall health and fitness.
The study authors suspect the same might be true for humans. (If so, it could explain a lot about why Keith Richards has looked like he’s about to die since age 30.) The flamboyant birds suggest there’s essentially a trade-off between investing precious biological resources to attract mates early in life and staying healthy in older age, according to study author Brian Preston, Ph.D., from the University of Burgundy, France.
No matter if you’re a wallflower of a fist-pumper, you do have some control over how quickly you age. Genes control roughly half the rate at which we develop old-man problems like graying hair, hearing loss, and Alzheimer’s disease, says Douglas Miller, M.D., of the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute.
More from MensHealth.com: How Coffee Protects Alzheimer’s
The sooner you change your habits, the longer you’ll be able to fight off the effects of aging, Miller emphasizes. Start with these 5 things that are making you old before your time.
1. Your Drink of ChoiceSoda contains high levels of phosphates. When Harvard researchers fed mice a high-phosphate diet, they developed signs of premature aging, including infertility, loss of muscle mass, and curved spines—and they died more quickly. Lay off the fizzy stuff, and skip phosphate-rich processed foods (like cookies, hot dogs, and frozen pizza) while you’re at it. (Even if the findings don’t apply to humans, which researchers aren’t sure of, it’s not like these are exactly health foods anyway.)
2. Your NeighborhoodMiller’s research shows people on blocks with run-down houses, loud traffic, and polluted air physically decline more quickly. If moving is out of the question, spruce up your space by planting a garden: You can grow your own fruits and veggies (full of healthy antioxidants) and spend time in the sunshine getting your vitamin D (low levels have also been linked to age-related diseases), Miller says.
3. Your Skipped WorkoutsBreaking news: Exercise is good for you. But new research shows that it can actually slow down aging at the cellular level. Active people have longer telomeres, stretches of DNA that keep our cells stable but typically shorten over time. A study in Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the telomeres of active people and found they were biologically 10 years younger than couch potatoes. Those who do cardio for at least 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, and maintain the habit for more than 5 years are the best off, according to researchers at the University of Colorado.
4. Your Doing-Five-Things-At-Once HabitStudies show that multitasking fatigues your grey matter, contributes to age-related conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, and increases levels of stress hormones like cortisol, which kill brain cells. Your frontal lobes were wired to do one thing at a time, says Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas. Focus on each task for at least 15 to 20 minutes before moving onto the next thing—you’ll not only be more productive, you’ll build up brainpower that will protect your memory as you get older.
5. Your Late NightsSleeping less than seven hours ages your brain the equivalent of 4 to 7 years, according to a recent study in the journal SLEEP. And researchers at University of California at San Diego found that sleeping ups the odds of aging happily and healthily. If you find yourself counting sheep, try this tip: After 15 minutes of lying awake in bed, get up and move to the couch or another bedroom. Do something relaxing, like listening to quiet music on your iPod, until the urge to snooze hits again.
