The document discusses recent research linking inner peace and lower levels of neural excitation to longevity. A 2019 study found that people who lived past 85 exhibited significantly lower expression of genes related to neural excitation compared to those who died before 80. Ancient Chinese texts also linked inner peace and regular lifestyle to longevity. Maintaining balance of neural network activity through practices like Qigong, Tai Chi, meditation and adequate rest may help slow aging by reducing neural excitation and promoting longevity. Further research on molecules like REST that regulate neural excitability could lead to interventions to delay aging and age-related diseases.

1. COMMENT
doi: 10.12032/TMR20191219147
TMR | September 2020 | vol. 5 | no. 5 | 302 Submit a manuscript: https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Inner peace makes you live longer
Haoran Zhang1
*
1
Department of oncology, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tianjin, China.
*Corresponding to: Haoran Zhang, Department of Oncology, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, No. 6, Changjiang Road,
Nankai District, Tianjin, 300052, China. Email: 291067406@qq.com.
Abbreviations:
REST, repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor; IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor 1.
Competing interests:
The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.
Citation:
Haoran Zhang. Inner peace makes you live longer. Traditional Medicine Research 2020, 5 (5): 302–304.
Executive editor: Xiao-Hong Sheng, Mathew Goss.
Submitted: 16 December 2019, Accepted: 18 December 2019, Online: 19 December 2019

2. COMMENT
Submit a manuscript: https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr
doi: 10.12032/TMR20191219147
TMR | September 2020 | vol. 5 | no. 5 | 303
The question of how we live longer—and why only a
minority of humans have good health and a long
life—has confused people for millennia. Over the past
few decades, we have learned that human lifespan is
determined by both the genes and external influences,
and that these factors act, by means of numerous
genetic pathways, to regulate the cellular and systemic
processes that ultimately cause aging and death.
Recently, a study by a team at Harvard Medical
School, published in the journal Nature, reveals the
first evidence of the link between the nervous system
and aging. Professor Bruce Yankner and others have
found that the overall neuronal excitation could
determine the lifespan, which is more obvious in
short-lived individuals than the long-lived. People with
high levels of arousal live shorter lives, while people
with long lives experience lower levels of neuro
arousal [1]. Besides, they also point out that the
molecular mechanisms are associated with repressor
element-1 silencing transcription factor (REST) gene
expression level, which could reduce the nervous
system excitability, adjust insulin and insulin-like
growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway and
eventually promote longevity.
Interestingly, the theory that relaxation of nerves
contributes to longevity had been recorded in ancient
Chinese books before thousands of years. Writing in
the classical ancient books of traditional Chinese
medicine entitled Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's
Canon of Internal Classic) (221 B.C.E.–220 C.E.), the
Huang Di's teacher Qi Bo told him that people in
prehistoric times could live more than 100 years, and
they rarely showed signs of aging in old age [2]. One
of the reasons is that they know the way to maintain
body heath. They have peaceful life and regular diet,
never overworked or too tired because of the desire.
Not only in traditional Chinese medicine but also in
Buddhist theory, practitioners seek inner peace to keep
themselves healthy. In modern society, there are also
many examples of this, such as art therapy, Qigong (an
ancient and widely practiced Chinese meditation
exercise) therapy and martial arts practice, which are
the pursuit of inner peace and spiritual relaxation,
ultimately to maintain health and reduce disease.
How might this occur? First, previous studies have
found that aging affects the nervous system, for
example, Alzheimer's disease and other age-related
neurodegenerative diseases [3, 4]. In contrast, some
studies have found that neural signals can influence the
rate of aging in living things [5]. For example, the
elimination of specific neurons in the nematode can
change the lifespan of the nematode [6]. The increased
lifespan associated with reduced insulin/IGF signaling
can be eliminated by restoring the function of specific
neurons [7]. But previous studies have looked only at
the relationship between nematode nerves and lifespan,
and no one has looked at whether the state of nervous
system activity affects the aging process.
Aging is characterized by a progressive loss of
physiological integrity, impairment of physiological
function and eventual death. Aging causes a variety of
diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular
disease and neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years,
the study of aging has made unprecedented progress,
especially the discovery that the rate of aging is
controlled by genetic pathways and biochemical
processes preserved in the process of evolution.
Numerous studies have identified many characteristics
of aging: genomic instability, telomere wear, loss of
protein stability, nutrient sensing disorders,
mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence and
stem cell failure [8]. By studying the molecular
mechanisms of aging, we can look for drugs or
methods to improve human health and prolong life in
the future.
Studies have shown that the expression changes of
brain genes in young and old people are very
significant [9]. The researchers collected three known
brain transcriptome cohort studies: Religious Orders
Study and Memory and Aging Project, CommonMind
Consortium, and Gibbs [10–12]. They then analyzed
differences in gene expression between the long-lived
group (older than 85 years) and the non-long-lived
group (younger than 80 years) and found a surprising
finding: people who died after age 85 had significantly
lower expression of genes related to neural excitation
than people who died before age 80. The results
suggest that longevity may be related to lower neuron
excitability.
So the question is whether signals from the nervous
system can regulate the rate at which the whole body
ages. Zullo and his colleagues began their study by
studying the brain tissue of older adults who had no
cognitive deficits before they died. The authors
analyzed gene expression profiles in the frontal cortex
and found an interesting correlation: in long-lived
individuals, genes involved in neural excitation and the
function of synaptic connections between neurons
were downregulated, but genes needed to inhibit
neurotransmission were not.
As early as 2014, Yankner's team noticed the role of
REST in the brains of the elderly [13]. The expression
of many genes is regulated by this REST protein,
which has a protective effect on the brain. Large traces
of the REST gene were found in the long-lived
population where the expression of the
neuroexcitation-related genes was down-regulated.
Moreover, the decreased expression of those genes did
correlate positively with increased REST gene
expression. To test this out more intuitively, they did it
again in mice. They compared the level of neural
activity in the brains of mice that had the REST gene
knocked out with that of wild-type mice. The results
are unequivocal: REST suppresses neural activity
across the board and prevents the brain from getting
too excited. In subsequent studies, the researchers

3. COMMENT
doi: 10.12032/TMR20191219147
TMR | September 2020 | vol. 5 | no. 5 | 304 Submit a manuscript: https://www.tmrjournals.com/tmr
found that the presence of a large number of REST
proteins reduced neuronal excitability, which in turn
activated the expression of the Forkhead box O 1
protein (daf-16 in nematode worms), a molecule
downstream of the insulin/IGF signaling pathway,
ultimately prolonging lifespan. We all know that the
anti-aging effects of caloric restriction are also
achieved by affecting the insulin/IGF signaling
pathway.
For example, accumulating evidence couples neural
overexcitation to Alzheimer’s disease [14]. So REST
and other molecules that control neural excitability are
possible targets for interventions aimed at battling the
decline and maladies of old age. What's more, the
researchers found that their study was consistent with
previous studies. For example, the anticonvulsants
ethylsuccinate and valproic acid can extend the
lifespan of nematodes [15]. Activating REST or
reducing neuronal excitability may be one way to slow
down aging in humans.
In complementary and alternative medicine, there
are many ways to calm your nerves and achieve inner
peace. These ways of relaxing nerves have significant
effects on delaying senility, treating mental illness and
improving the quality of life of patients with chronic
diseases. For example, during the process of music
treatment, the participant transfers from depressed
mood to deep relaxation and from the frightened state
to the state of inspiration and creativity. Through arts
therapy sessions and hospital tours, the music helps the
depression patients deal with feelings of sadness,
anxiety and anger [16]. In addition, different schools of
Qigong treatment also have a magical therapeutic
effect. By relaxing and affecting nerves, Qigong, in
addition to delaying aging, can significantly speed up
the body's recovery process, and even grow new hair
[17]. Similar to Qigong, the traditional Chinese martial
art of Tai Chi is a form of training that relaxes the
nerves to slow the aging process [18–19].
In conclusion, whether through Qigong training,
gene modification, or medication, it helps to slow
down the overall changes in neural excitation and
maintain the proper balance of neural network activity.
In modern society, adequate rest and sleep are also the
keys to preventing age-related neurological disorders
and diseases. Evidence continues to suggest that inner
peace may actually prolong human life.
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