A scientist devoted to science embarked on a remarkable journey. He decided to lock himself inside a submerged research station that was just 592 square feet for 100 days. His objective? To document the effects of pressurization on the human body.
Emerging from this aquatic experiment, the scientific community found itself astounded by a profound transformation in the scientist’s physical constitution – astonishingly, he’s now a decade younger.
Dr. Joe Dituri, who happens to be a former US Navy diver and expert in biomedical engineering, had experienced a 20% growth in the lengths of his telomeres.
To enlighten on the topic of ageing without completely delving into its intricacies, one of the main hallmarks of the ageing process is the gradual shrinkage of telomeres. Telomeres are found on the ends of strands of DNA, acting somewhat like the fused plastic ring that’s found at the end of a shoelace in order to keep the fabric from splitting apart.
When telomeres shorten as people age, DNA is exposed to damage, which is why a number of longevity programs these days focus on stopping that loss.
Meanwhile, another major factor was probably his body’s natural stem cell count. This happened to grow 1,000% higher than before he went under the water. He also experienced a 60% increase in the duration of deep sleep, which is the real restorative state of sleep that people need to maintain their health, which typically makes up around 90 minutes of someone’s sleep cycle.
Because of this, it managed to reduce his biological age clock by an impressive 10 years.
According to Science Alert, before he went under the water, Dr. Dituri was focusing on the possible negative effects that could befall him while under the sea rather than the good. These included reduced exposure to vitamin C, the loss of bone and muscle mass, and even a reemergence of particular viruses he had previously overcome due to a weakened immune system.
But pressure – like what’s found inside a therapeutic hyperbaric oxygen chamber – has previously shown a number of positive benefits which leaving beneath the pressure of the water seems to have duplicated.
Dr. Dituri shared with British media, Mirror, about what happened, saying, “You need one of these places that is cut off from outside activity. Send people down here for a two-week vacation, where they get their feet scrubbed, relax and can experience the benefit of hyperbaric medicine.”
While inside the pod, he used exercise bands to do at least one hour of fitness workouts, five days a week. Moreover, this was probably augmented with swimming, since he would go outside the pod every so often for a dive.
Although more research is still needed to fully understand the positive biological effects that took place while living under the sea, the idea of having undersea spas and wellness retreats may still be a long way off. However, considering that this experiment added an entire decade to Dr. Dituri’s life, it won’t be a surprise if others begin to follow in his footsteps.
See more about his journey in the video below:
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