Aubrey de Grey and Dan Buettner talk longevity on CNN

This morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviewed geneticist and anti-aging expert Aubrey de Grey and author Dan Buettner, who spoke about “how to live longer.” Buettner provided tips based on his research of long-lived groups around the world, while de Grey discussed regenerative medicine that will be able to radically extend the human lifespan to several hundred years or more.

“The real advantage of applying regenerative medicine to the problem of ageing is that we can actually turn the biological clock backwards,” (de Grey) said.

“We can take people who are already middle aged, or perhaps older, and turn them back to having a lower biological age.”

While we’re waiting for breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, Buettner says there are a number of small lifestyle changes that could add another to decade to most people’s lives.

Stress can have a huge negative impact on long-term health, but it doesn’t only affect those living hectic lives. Buettner said that people living in “Blue Zones” also have to cope with stress, but they have better mechanisms for dealing with it.

The two also took questions from viewers and addressed concerns about how longer lifespans will affect society, staying healthy and productive into old age, keeping your mind sharp, and more.