Lifespan

Why We Age - and Why We Don't Have To

By: David A. Sinclair PhD, Matthew D. LaPlante

Narrated by: David A. Sinclair PhD

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Audio bonus! Includes exclusive conversations with the authors!

From an acclaimed Harvard professor and one of Time’s most influential people, this paradigm-shifting audiobook shows how almost everything we think we know about aging is wrong, offers a front-row seat to the amazing global effort to slow, stop, and reverse aging, and calls listeners to consider a future where aging can be treated.

For decades, experts have believed that we are at the mercy of our genes and that natural damage to our genes - the kind that inevitably happens as we get older - makes us become sick and grow old.

But what if everything you think you know about aging is wrong? What if aging is a disease - and that disease is treatable?

In Lifespan, one of the world’s foremost experts on aging and genetics reveals a groundbreaking new theory that will forever change the way we think about why we age and what we can do about it. Aging isn’t immutable; we can have far more control over it than we realize. This eye-opening and provocative work takes us to the front lines of research that is pushing the boundaries on our perceived scientific limitations, revealing incredible breakthroughs - many from Dr. David Sinclair’s own lab - that demonstrate how we can slow down, or even reverse, the genetic clock. The key is activating newly discovered vitality genes - the decedents of an ancient survival circuit that is both the cause of aging and the key to reversing it. Dr. Sinclair shares the emerging technologies and simple lifestyle changes - such as intermittent fasting, cold exposure, and exercising with the right intensity - that have been shown to help lead to longer lives.

Lifespan provides a road map for taking charge of our own health destiny and a bold new vision for the future when humankind is able to live to be 100 years young.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 David Sinclair (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio

Great research with unneed opinions not related.

i really liked the information and working to apply applications where i can.
the research was very informative. As long as he wrote information he researching it was great, but near the end he dove off into politics and other liberal
chatter is where i was disappoint. i dont need your opinion or areas you dont research included. Stick to the research, leave the liberal BS out of future books.

Hope for the journey

I'm a 59 year old female. Middle class. Normal wear and tear and no diseases to speak of. I eat really clean; mostly whole foods, fewer carbs, much less sugar. I take care of myself pretty well, seeking traditional and holistic therapies to enhance my body, mind and spirit. No prescribed medications. I exercise.
The "normal wear and tear", however.....
I've thought often enough to myself over the past 5 years, as my knees have given way and my energy has waned and arthritis in my hands and fingers and feet have reared up, that surely it isn't downhill from this point. I get to look forward to greater pain and impeded mobility before knee replacements and recovery and if I'm super lucky, the same for my hips. I will move less and less and with less vigor. I will seek reasons why I cannot engage and "play". With a modest lifespan of 80+ then there are 20+ years left to feel kind of crappy. I rise to occasions but the joy in movement and feeling "alive" are diminished. It makes me sad.
My husband and I both have spoken a goal of living to 100. We have a wonderful family and grandchildren and we have personal goals for experiences and travel. But I can see how my current trajectory will undermine these goals.
Dr. Mark Hyman's podcast introduced me to biologist David Sinclair. I have just completed listening (and taking notes) to the Audible book. Mr. Sinclair has a wonderful ability to make this science of aging perfectly accessible and his stories weave it all together cohesively. I was most struck by the testimony of his father, however.
I take heart that this research is being done and is coming soon to a pharmacy near me. In the meantime, however, I have just started taking NR. I plan to incorporate other suggestions from his research and personal protocols as I am able. I look forward to noting any differences that may come my way, and bring me hope.

Bravo!

I appreciate the time Sinclair has taken out of his busy life to get this information out into the world. I also appreciate the forward thinking, and the sensible discussions he's brought forth. I think this book should give you the biggest incentive to take care of yourself. I'm 26, and one of the leaders of the Dept. of Genetics at Harvard Medical School thinks that I (in general) have a great chance to live until I'm 120. I literally quit smoking after I read this, and my wife is working on it. We're two people. I cannot imagine the number of lives this knowledge will change. I am grateful to live in this age. In this age of information, it is important to gather your knowledge from revered sources like David Sinclair PhD!

a brave tale

This book has consumed me the past 2 weeks or so and I've never finished one so fast while listening at normal speed. Reframing aging as a disease is not an easy sell, and even brave if you're an academic wishing to keep a career and funding. The way the public has framed growing old for themselves at present is just a coping mechanism for what they think is inevitable. On the other side, critical people might question the kind of enlightenment thinking that with enough technology we can solve everything.

Sinclair questions himself and his work like a good scientist does. But he is also an advocate for longer but more importantly healthier and vital lives. Citing cases from his personal life and family members (grandmother, father, mother, brother, son and more) who have aged or have rejuvenated, his quest for curing the disease of aging becomes very personal and can be sincerely felt as he tells about his mother dying of lung cancer.
He does a good job of explaining how medicine has succeeded at prolonging life but not necessarily prolonging vitality. And after explaining his research (mostly on mice and yeast), the workings of the cell, DNA, the epigenome, the sirtuens and the information theory of aging, he also questions the implications of people on the planet growing older and starts a bold chapter of the political and societal futures, taking into consideration climate change and the divide between rich and poor.

It is strictly not a self help book even though insights can be glanced from it. Well known ideas are confirmed: exercise and eat your greens, but the more interesting part is where light is shed on the benefits of (intermittent) fasting, something that is currently regarded as a diet trend or fad. He also reveals some of the science around taking cold showers or the Wim Hof method. Much like fasting without starving, exposure to cold without catching a cold triggers the body and activates survival genes in our DNA and keeps us young at the level of the cell.

The book's chapters are concluded with chats between Sinclair and LaPlante, a colleague, in which they review the chapter in an informal podcast-like way and LaPlante questions Sinclair about the remarkable things he says. This serves both as a way to jog the remembrance of the content as well as keeping things light.

What I take away from this book is a renewed commitment to taking things easy, loving life and going for a triple digits chronological age. And a sort of "Todo" to investigate my genome, reread about the important chemicals and see what changes I can make in my life to live more vitally. Even though I don't put on fat (lucky me), I probably eat too much. This book helps me imagine, with a funny example of Tom Cruise, that I can live long while staying young.

Amazing! No need to fear infirmities of old age?

Exciting! No longer fear the infirmities of old age!? A radical paradime shift. His practical methods can give us a jumpstart now. But Aging itself is the " disease" to be researched. Dementia , arthritis, heart disease, cancer, and the rest, are only it's symptoms! We need to spend our research money and efforts on anti-aging science. Living Better not just longer, without the fear of the infirmities of old age!

Everybody should read this at least once

Happy to see that somebody in the field takes time to educate and inform. Thank you

Read by the Author

This is an important book. Even if the science is new, thinking of ageing as a disease makes sense. The prediction of new therapies and longer lifespan is well defended, and we need to consider the consequences of that.

The best part was the actual science stuff and discussion of what that means. The low point is where it strays too far into politics, climate science, and social commentary. The main point is that longer lives are a good thing if we handle it well. The details were not helpful.

The book is read by the Author and I love that. The author appears on TV and podcasts and I recognize the voice. It also helps to hear the phrasing and cadence of the author, even if he isn't a perfect narrator.

Fascinating story of the research

I can't stop listening to this book : it is full of such interesting information, enlighment and optimis, lots of food for thoughts.

Required reading

loved it, Sinclair opens the mind to what the possibilities are. makes one wonder if the establishment really wants to cure aging as a disease

Mind-blowing

I read a ton and rarely leave reviews but every adult in the world should read this. This information is crucial for the future of humanity regardless of the field where each of us operates. Prof. Sinclair has managed to make science of aging accessible to us all, a must read!