If you spent a significant amount of time underwater, such as 100 days, you might expect to emerge looking a bit different than when you first submerged.
While you might imagine losing some weight due to limited exercise opportunities, you might not anticipate many other changes—perhaps just fatigue-induced under-eye bags.
However, Dr. Joseph Dituri experienced far more significant alterations, claiming that his time underwater had a rejuvenating effect on his body.
Last year, Dr. Dituri undertook a challenge to live underwater for 100 days in a habitat situated 30 feet below a Florida lagoon’s surface.
His mission wasn’t simply for entertainment; he was conducting a study to observe the effects of prolonged exposure to extreme pressure. During this time, he not only set a world record but also discovered a previously unknown species.
The core objective of monitoring his body’s response was to investigate a medical therapy aimed at enhancing oxygen delivery under high-pressure conditions by promoting the growth of new blood vessels.
Dr. Dituri, a former naval officer, resided in a room measuring nine meters by nine meters at the lagoon’s bottom, which required scuba diving to access.
When not being monitored by himself or medical, psychological, and psychosocial specialists, he dedicated his remaining time to educating school children via a video link on his laptop.
A press release from last year stated: “Part of the work will see a psychologist and a psychiatrist monitor the effects he experiences while in an environment similar to extended space travel.”
“It’s an isolating confined extreme environment. And as humans, we really need to figure out how we’re going to be living in that (environment) if we’re going to expand our planet, if we’re going to go interplanetary, if we’re going to find all the cures that we need to find.”
Upon resurfacing from his underwater expedition in June, Dr. Dituri reported that blood tests indicated a 50-percent reduction in every inflammatory marker in his body.
He noted improvements in various health aspects following the 100-day adventure, including the elongation of telomeres—chromosomal structures often associated with longevity.
In a recent interview with WKMG News in Orlando, Dr. Dituri stated: “I’m 56 now. My extrinsic [biological] age was 44. When I got out of the water, my extrinsic age was 34.”
“So, my telomeres lengthened. I actually got younger when I was under the water.”
Although Dr. Dituri acknowledges that his telomeres are not as extended as they were immediately after emerging from the water, they remain longer than before he began his research.
He attributes his remarkable ‘age reversal’ to living in a high-pressure or ‘hyperbaric’ environment.