New study suggests one secret to long life may be hibernation

University of California, Los Angeles scientists believe there is a link between hibernation and long life.

Researchers studying yellow-bellied marmots found these cat-sized ground squirrels can virtually halt the aging process during the seven to eight months they spend hibernating each year. These rodents, which weigh up to 15 pounds, live up to 15 years, longer than expected for their body weight.

 “Our results from different statistical approaches reveal that epigenetic aging essentially stalls during hibernation,” lead author Gabriela Pinho told Technology Networks. “We found that the epigenetic age of marmots increases during the active season, stops during hibernation and continues to increase in the next active season.”

 In a study entitled Hibernation slows epigenetic ageing in yellow-bellied marmots published last month, Pinho and her colleagues reported that, during long stretches of hibernation, marmots halt several processes that contribute to aging.  The rodents use miniscule amounts of energy, their body temperature drops significantly and their metabolism slows dramatically.

 All of these hibernation-related conditions have been shown to counter the aging process and promote longevity, the researchers said. They speculate that similar delayed aging likely occurs in other mammals that hibernate, because the molecular and physiological changes are similar.

Most interesting about the research, the UCLA group appears to be the first to use epigenetic marks to assess aging in the marmots. The marks can be affected by a variety of environmental, dietary and behavioral stresses.

While the research isn’t particularly helpful for most of us hoping to extend our healthy human lifespans, it may be very useful for long space flights. In fact, NASA has been researching ways to induce hibernation for astronauts on deep-space missions.

 This research supports previous work that showed hibernators tend to live significantly longer lives than non-hibernating animals of similar sizes.

It’s not likely that too many humans would opt to put themselves into an induced hibernation, but the study helps us to better understand the impact of hibernation-like processes on the body. As humans continue to explore ways to extend our healthy human lifespan, we should at least explore the natural strategies that some long-lived animals have developed over millennia.