Why turning the heating OFF can help you to live longer
AS energy prices soar, there’s another argument behind turning the heating off.
Research suggests that keeping at a cool temperature can help you to live longer.
The study, by a team of international scientists, conducted experiments on rodents to see how long they lived for under different temperatures.
Hamsters and mice were exposed to high temperatures, about 32.5C, causing their body temperature to shoot up.
The lifespan of rodents dropped by 41 per cent for males and 28 per cent for females, compared with those living at about 21C, reported.
What's more, when the researchers used small fans to cool the rodents in high temperatures down, it lowered their body temperature.
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Their lifespan then recovered to the level of those living in chillier conditions.
How does it work?
The researchers, from the UK and China, hypothesise that body temperature is a much more important indicator of lifespan than metabolic rate.
Metabolic rate is how fast or slow a person’s body burns food for fuel.
You’ll likely know someone who credits their slim figure to their “fast metabolism”.
Scientists previously speculated that animals with high metabolic rates tend to have a shorter lifespan than those with slow metabolisms.
However, there is discrepancy within this idea.
Calorie restriction and exercise are both thought to extend life - but the former slows metabolic rate, while the latter speeds it up.
One problem with working out the effect of metabolism on lifespan is that it is often linked to changes in body temperature.
Generally, low metabolic rates are associated with low body temperature.
So, when rodents in research under caloric restriction live longer, it's not clear that the extended lifespan is linked to their low metabolism or lower body temperature.
This recent study, published in the journal, managed to untangle the two factors.
When the temperature increases, the rate of metabolism increases. It then rapidly declines at higher temperatures.
When the rodents were in the hottest conditions, their metabolism fell while their body temperature went up.
"We found that exposing the rodents to these conditions shortened their lifespans,” said Professor John Speakman, co-corresponding author of the study from University of Aberdeen.
Turning the fan on brought the rodent's body temperature down - and that’s when improvements in their lifespan were seen.
This suggested to the researchers that body temperature, and not metabolic rate, is key to adding years to life.
Similarly, keeping “cool” while at home or the office will keep body temperature lower - and may prevent ageing.
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Zhijun Zhao, from Wenzhou University, first author of the study, said: "We separated the effect of body temperature on lifespan from metabolic rate in two species of small rodents exposed to high temperatures.
“We are excited about the findings, particularly that using small fans to blow air over the animals reversed the effect of high ambient temperature on lifespan by decreasing body temperature without changing metabolic rate.”