Another is reducing stress. Picard’s research shows that the stress response puts a huge strain on our mitochondria, which not only need to provide energy for the raised heartrate and other physical responses to stress, but also produce and pump out the stress hormones that keep the response going. For reasons that aren’t fully understood, stress makes cells age faster, perhaps because they are being forced to work harder than they should.
Nevertheless, Pontzer remains unconvinced that “boosting” the activity of our mitochondria to get more energy out of them is possible. His research suggests that our bodies adjust the rate at which the mitochondria burn calories to keep the total within a narrow range. If we exercise more, for example, the body adjusts the overall metabolic rate to spend less energy on other things, such as the stress response or inflammation. So, any attempt to tinker with your mitochondria is likely to be pointless, and “wouldn’t necessarily increase vitality”, says Pontzer.
So, what is vitality if not the feeling of supercharged…
