Man who spent record 100 days underwater shares proof it de-aged him by 20 years
While you'd think that living underwater for a long period of time would age you, one man who spent a whopping 100 days under the sea's surface says he was 20 years younger afterwards.
In March 2023, Dr Joseph Dituri – a biomedical researcher – used himself as a 'human guinea-pig' to see how his body reacted to living underwater for a prolonged period of time.
Dr Dituri's unconventional home was in Florida and sat 30 feet from the ocean's surface. He named the scientific experience 'Project Neptune 100'.
During the 100-day study, he successfully broke a world record and also discovered a 'brand news species'. Impressive!
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Most people, myself included, probably wouldn't volunteer themselves to live in a confined underwater space for 100 days, but Dr Dituri appeared to cope surprisingly well.
"The only miserable thing was cracking a tooth on day 12, which I had to endure for the remaining 88," he told The Guardian last year.
Dr Dituri added: "Feeling the sun on my face again and getting my tooth fixed were the most satisfying aspects of returning to dry land."
The size of the space he was in for that period of time wasn't big. The former naval officer stayed in a nine meter by nine meter room hidden away at the bottom of the water – which he had to use a scuba diving kit to reach.
Despite this, Dr Dituri 'experienced notable improvements in health'.
He explained to The Guardian: "Tests revealed that collagen and stem cell production in my body had increased, suggesting a potential slowing down of the effects of ageing.
"I doubled my REM sleep, waking up refreshed and alert every morning.
"Thanks to the increase in my metabolism, I lost 23lb and 100 points on my cholesterol."
As well as this, when he emerged from his underwater mission in June 2023, Dr Dituri claimed that blood tests showed a 50-percent reduction in every inflammatory marker in his body.
He found that he had longer telomeres (structures on chromosomes that are often linked to extending life) too.
Speaking to reporters at WKMG News in 2024, Dr Dituri said: "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."
Dr Dituri claims that his telomeres are not as long as they were when he first came out his underwater home, but they are longer than they were before he embarked on his research.
He also believes his phenomenal 'age reversal' was caused by living in a high-pressure or 'hyperbaric' environment.
Niamh Shackleton