the power of gravity

Dr. Joan Vernikos wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, gravity is not the enemy when it comes to aging. In fact, gravity is our best ally in aging well. And Vernikos has the space science to prove it.

“In my research at NASA, I studied the e ects of extended weightlessness on astronauts and volunteers in simulated weightlessness,” says Vernikos, who was the director of Life Sciences at NASA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters from 19932000 and also worked at NASA’s Californiabased Ames Research Center. “What we learned is that astronauts, who go into space far fitter than the average adult, seem to rapidly age in extended weightlessness. They su er muscle atrophy and lose bone density. Their overall health degenerates to levels usually seen in elderly people. All this is because of no gravity. Once they return to Earth and gravity, their health improves with physical rehabilitation.”

Although we may not be astronauts, Vernikos believes our increasingly sedentary lifestyles produce similar health risks as experiencing space weightlessness.

“Thanks to modern technologies, our minds are overloaded and our bodies are under-loaded,” says Vernikos. “We have become experts at normalizing a sedentary existence, and that leads to unhealthy aging. The key is to move our bodies and use the resistance of gravity to our benefit.”

Vernikos has written two books on that very subject: The G-Connection: Harness Gravity and Reverse Aging which won the Life Science Book Award from The International Academy of Astronautics, and Moving Heals

The topic for Vernikos’ IHMC lecture on December 14 is “Gravity Is Our Friend.”

“Gravity, the force under which all life on Earth evolved, is our body’s friend,” says Vernikos, also a pharmacologist and inventor. “You automatically harness gravity any time you move. And it’s that movement that keeps our bodies functioning as they should.”

For Vernikos, the solution is “intermittent moderate movements that resist the force of gravity throughout the day, starting from the time you wake up until you go to bed.”

She adds, “It’s as simple as standing up every 30 minutes and not slumping when we sit. This keeps stimulating and fine tuning our bodily systems.”

Of course, Vernikos acknowledges aging is inevitable.

“We cannot escape growing older,” she says. “But we can, with a positive approach to life, the right diet, activities and exercise that capitalize on the gravity around us, age in a healthy way.”

Learn more SERIES › Dr. Joan Vernikos, former NASA researcher & author 6-7pm › ihmc.us/