Speaking at the Longevity event, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan drew attention to the importance of healthy living and stress management. Tarhan pointed out that pleasure happiness is limited to a short-term dopamine effect, while sustainable happiness, as meaning happiness, is linked to serotonin and oxytocin, stating, “Those who choose meaning happiness as a lifestyle can find things that will make them happy in any condition.”
Emphasizing that the immune system is in direct interaction with emotions and thoughts, Tarhan stated that exercise, social connections, and doing good also delay aging.
Tarhan: “Stress is an inevitable part of our lives. We need to transform it into life energy.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, NPİSTANBUL Hastanesi Chairman of the Board Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan spoke at the Longevity event held in Istanbul on May 24-25. Tarhan made statements on the biological and psychological elements of healthy living and the importance of stress management.
“Pleasure happiness and meaning happiness are different”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that concepts such as pleasure happiness, dopamine happiness, and serotonin happiness were discussed in the book ‘Hacking the American Mind,’ written by an endocrinologist. He said, “So, an endocrinology specialist defines and proves happiness in the book. It beautifully summarized the foundation of the American economy.”
Tarhan mentioned that the book discusses the prevalence of a pleasure-oriented lifestyle and how it unfortunately significantly increases psychiatric cases. He said, “In summary, it states, ‘Those who chase pleasure cannot be happy.’ Yet, currently, society constantly receives messages like ‘buy this, be happy, eat this, be happy, travel, have fun, be happy, have sex, be happy, love yourself, be happy again.’ However, these are not happiness, but merely pleasure. Pleasure happiness and serotonin happiness, that is, meaning happiness, are different from each other. In fact, this is not new; Aristotle said this 2500 years ago. He defines hedonic happiness as pleasure happiness, and eudaimonic happiness as meaning happiness. Pleasure happiness creates a short-term effect and, as stated in Latin, secretes a reward in the brain via dopamine. Pleasure is felt; people experience tremendous energy at that moment.”
‘Meaning happiness’ should be chosen for sustainable happiness!
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, referring to meaning, or ideal happiness, being related to serotonin and oxytocin, said, “Since its biological markers are now definitive, this situation is very important for us to rewrite our life philosophy. Serotonin is already used in antidepressant medications. These drugs are given to increase serotonin levels, but they don't take effect immediately; their effect appears after 2-3 weeks. Therefore, serotonin acts slowly and is secreted slowly. The brains of individuals who produce meaning secrete serotonin. When this happens, sustainable happiness emerges.”
Tarhan stated that Martin E. P. Seligman, who worked on the concept of ‘authentic happiness,’ described meaning happiness, and added the following:
“Seligman, a theorist of positive psychology, defines meaning happiness as ‘authentic happiness.’ While there isn't an exact English equivalent for authentic happiness, I found its equivalent in Turkish in the word ‘huzur’ (peace/serenity). The word ‘huzur’ means being prepared even for the worst in the future. A person sees all positive and negative possibilities, perceives the negative, and can remain calm under stress while being prepared for the worst. Seligman puts it this way: ‘The ability to experience the same happiness whether in prison or in a palace.’ Think about it, how many people can experience the same happiness if they end up in prison? And in a palace, for example, you wouldn't become spoiled. There's a risk of becoming spoiled in a palace. Because when power is gained, a situation called ‘power delusion’ arises. The person who gains power begins to see themselves almost like a god on earth, becomes closed to criticism, their ego inflates, and narcissism emerges. This, in turn, becomes a false happiness. When they leave office, CEOs in the USA retire and start walking their dogs, only to die of heart attacks within six months. This is because they chose only the pleasure happiness provided by that position as their lifestyle. However, if they were prepared for retirement and chose meaning happiness as their lifestyle, they could find things to make them happy even after retirement.”
“Our cells listen to our emotions and feelings”
Emphasizing the significant importance of the immune system, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “The immune system is determined by our thoughts. You might ask, ‘What is the immune system, and what is thought?’ but this is a very interesting topic. The immune system is actually connected to our emotional dialogues.”
Tarhan noted that our cells listen to the emotions that pass through us. He said, “That is, they listen to our emotions, our feelings. Our intestines also communicate with our emotions. Our stomach communicates with our emotions. Our intestines are the largest organ of our immune system. That's why the ‘brain-gut axis’ is very important. Serotonin is also most abundant there. Our intestines are the first organ of the immune system. We have also noticed how stress affects our immune system. When people are stressed, their allergies and various health problems emerge. The concept of ‘immune stress – immune suppression’ is mentioned in the literature. In other words, stress suppresses the immune system. This has now been scientifically proven.”
Exercise, socializing, and doing good delay aging!
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also pointed out that the cardiovascular system, blood flow, and exercise come into play here. He said, “Leg muscles, in particular, are called the ‘second heart.’ Because for people who exercise and walk at least 5,000 steps a day, the heart's burden is lightened. In other words, physical exercise takes the load off the body. Even Ibn Sina emphasized the anti-stress property of walking and physical activity. However, we are currently living in an era that encourages laziness.”
Underlining that talking to people is one of the important solutions to prevent loneliness and brain aging, Tarhan continued his words as follows:
“According to a study by John Cacioppo, for people over 50, in ages where cognitive and mental decline occur, the most important risk factor for death is social isolation, that is, loneliness. Loneliness is the biggest cause of death among the elderly. But an elderly person surrounded by their children and family extends their average lifespan and becomes happier.
There is also a major study conducted by Harvard Business School in 136 countries. This research examined the relationship between philanthropic, that is, charitable and generous activities, and happiness among businessmen. The results show that the happiness rate of charitable and generous businessmen is 23 percent higher. So, in fact, the giver does not lose, the giver wins. This also reveals a characteristic of our brain related to the psychology of goodness.”
“Dementia risk increases in those who sleep less than 6 hours”
Underlining that sleep is also very important, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Disrupted sleep accelerates dementia through the effect of sleep on cognitive functions. The literature states that this has a cumulative effect. As age advances, sleep patterns and habits deteriorate, which makes the individual more fragile.”
Tarhan stated that a study involving a thousand people found a higher risk of dementia in individuals aged 50-60 who slept less than 6 hours. He said, “That is, the risk of dementia increases in those who sleep less than 6 hours. However, there's no necessity for it to be 8 hours; according to the literature, physiologically, 6 hours of sleep is sufficient. During sleep, the brain experiences its most restful period.”
“Omega-3 oils ensure cell membrane flexibility in the body”
Stating that omega-3 is also important for healthy aging, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “According to EPA and DHA ratios, anchovy has the highest omega-3 content. It is no coincidence that the people of the Black Sea region (Karadenizliler) govern Turkey with their brain power. Anchovy is truly very important.”
On the other hand, Tarhan reminded that Atlantic mackerel is also very rich in omega-3, noting that krill oil is also highly praised in the literature and that these oils ensure the flexibility of cell membranes in the body. Tarhan also added that other brain-friendly foods include ginger, garlic, papaya, saffron, cinnamon, curcumin, turmeric, and thyme.
“The brain cleanses substances that cause 'molding' during sleep”
Underlining that antioxidants have an important place in brain health, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Antioxidants prevent brain ‘mold.’ What I mean by brain mold is oxidative stress. If there is oxidative stress, our brain ‘molds,’ just like a fungus. Free radicals accumulate in the brain and cause damage between tissues.”
Tarhan stated that there is a glymphatic system in the brain. He said, “This functions like lymphatic circulation in the body. During sleep, channels open around the capillaries in the brain, the brain shrinks, and the thin membrane next to the vessels opens. The brain cleanses fatigue substances and free radicals, that is, substances that cause ‘molding,’ during sleep. If we don't have regular sleep, these wastes remain in the brain, and brain fog occurs. Our understanding, comprehension, and perception slow down.”
“Diet changes gene expression”
However, Tarhan emphasized that colorful plates are a fundamental element for brain health. He said, “Colorful plate nutrition is very important in areas such as thinking, life, physical optimization, neurological and psychological optimization, and nutritional optimization.”
Tarhan also stated that walking is very valuable and that walking 5-6 thousand steps a day provides psychological modification and DNA methylation. He explained, “These are epigenetic mechanisms. In other words, our diet changes our gene expression. If you automate your nutrition, your DNA will work accordingly with colorful plate nutrition. Unnecessary food cravings will decrease. If you still intensely crave harmful things, it means your epigenetic structure is conditioned to it. However, with 5-6 months of patience and diet, we can change these epigenetic mechanisms. During this process, it's even possible to enjoy broccoli! You can't solve everything immediately by eating broccoli after the age of 60, but this habit needs to be acquired beforehand.”
“Stress and difficulties have both a threat and an opportunity dimension”
Tarhan drew attention to stress management as another important point. He said, “Stress management is very important for us to efficiently use the lifespan of our telomeres. What type of personality will we be? Sponge type, Teflon type, or rubber type? Sponge-type individuals are always troubled and focus on negative thoughts, are anxious and neurotic, attract all problems to themselves, and negatively affect both themselves and others.”
Tarhan concluded by stating that Teflon-type individuals are selfish and only think about their own comfort:
“They do not care about the comfort of others; they appear comfortable and at ease when they have power. However, when they age and lose their physical strength, if they haven't developed wisdom, they easily break. The ideal type is the rubber type. Rubber is known for its flexible structure. It is important to flex and return to the original state in the face of stress. That is, we experience stress, we flex, and then we recover. We should see stress not as a threat, but as something manageable. It's always called ‘managing stress,’ not ‘defeating stress.’ Stress is an inevitable part of our lives. We need to transform it into life energy. As the Stoics also said, stress and difficulties have both a threat and an opportunity dimension. When we focus on the opportunity dimension, we transform the event we experience into a trauma that develops us. This is called ‘post-traumatic growth.’ Thus, every event we experience becomes an opportunity for growth.”
In conclusion, we should view negative events in life not as threats, but as opportunities for growth. When we say, ‘Why did this happen, I don't deserve this,’ we cannot manage stress, and our telomeres shorten prematurely.”
