I was flicking through old articles and I came across this one, suggesting that we were not far off finding ways to slow down, pause, or even reverse some of the significant processes of ageing.  The article is looking at ageing at a cellular level and is from the perspective of a biologist who is looking drugs that reduce the cellular effects of ageing.  Don't get me wrong.  I am excited by that but it is only half of the equation.  We have it in our hands to do the best with what we've got .  Three of the four key osteopathic principles are valid here. 

1. The body is it's own medicine chest
2. Structure and function are reciprocally related
3. The rule of the artery is supreme

Don't take the first too literally but the body is pretty good at resolving most problems given a fair chance.  To give it that fair chance we need to:

1. Give it the nutrients it needs - Nutrition is such a loaded area.   It's true that there is much conflicting advice out there.  One of the reasons for that appears to be that different diets suit different people, another is that there is growing opinion that the combinations of foods can be as important as the component parts (so a Mediterranean high in deep fried food may not be as harmful because there are protective effects in the salads that are typically eaten alongside), so it is complicated and I am not going to offer my pet opinions here.  What does seem a fairly safe bet though is that you do need to eat a balance of foods and that vegetables should form a significant part of that and if you are not eating meat at all then you will need to find alternative sources for some of the substances we need that are generally found in that part of our diet
2. Don't poison it - tobacco, alcohol and excess sugar, amongst others, disrupt our body's normal processes, reducing healing, prolonging inflammation and causing direct damage at a cellular level.  I don't want to be a killjoy but if you want to live a long and healthy life quit smoking and moderate your drinking and your intake of sweet things (many artificial sweeteners seem to cause issues by fooling the body into thinking its getting a hit of sugar). 
3. Fix what you can at a macro level - Your cells need energy, nutrients and the removal of metabolites to stay healthy, your tissues need to be able to be serviced by the systems that repair damage, remove debris, challenge and destroy foreign or displaced material.  That means keeping the body's communication network operating freely and without impediment.  The 'rule of artery is supreme' was once taken to imply supremacy over venus drainage.  Now we talk about the role of osteopathy in improving fluid dynamics in the arterial, venous and indeed the lymphatic system.  The role of the artery may (or may not) be supreme, but it is the lower pressure venous and lymphatic systems which may be more interrupted by inappropriate muscle tone and which rely on body movement to generate the pumping action which drives them and that leads me to
4. Maintain movement - 'structure and function are reciprocally related' - use it or lose it.  Your body is designed to be used.  That which isn't used doesn't then receive the care it needs to maintain its integrity.  If you don't move a joint then the synovial fluid won't be wiped or pumped over the articular surfaces properly and the cartilage may become diseased, if you don't move so that surfaces between layers of fascia slide across each other as they are designed to, eventually they lose that ability to slide.   Muscles weaken and bones lose density without being subjected to load.  

So really you already have so many tools to prevent ageing.  Eat a balanced diet, don't poison your body (too much :)), keep moving with some weight bearing exercise like walking or running and something that stretches you like pilates or yoga and get small problems that don't resolve  quickly on their own looked at.  You may not live to 150 but you will have done what you can to make the life you have as healthy and therefore enjoyable as possible

So many people are working from home right now and, if we are to believe what we are told, it will be the new normal for many, at least part-time.  In some ways, that is great.  Most people won't miss the commute and in theory, at least, that is time you can repurpose to do what you want...and apparently cosmetic and deodorant sales are down, so that suggests you are repurposing some of that wash and brush-up time too.  The down side is that for most of us, at least here in London, space is at a premium...we don't have a room set up as an office...so we have to work in our living space and that might involve some compromises.  How can you make that work?

1. You need a desk or table, don't spend all day working on your lap...or from bed...at least not often.  If you are short of space think about investing.  How about a coffee table that is also a dining table/desk like this or a cheaper option is a wall mounted drop leaf table like this - make sure you don't mount the drop leaf table too high (see 2.1 below)
2. Don't compromise on the chair.  You really do need a proper office chair 
   1. One that adjusts for height so that you can find a height where you can type or use a mouse with your shoulder relaxed, your elbows at 90', or just a little more open than that, and your hands slightly dropping onto the keyboard at the wrist
   2. One that swivels so that if you are looking at a screen and at paperwork you can twist the chair not your body
   3. One that rolls freely so you can get up and down without having to do that back-twinging scooch to get tucked in under the desk and vice versa.  It has been a year now, if the rug has to go...it has to go, and stop dropping your clothes on the floor, this is important
   4. If you have shorter legs or the table you are working at is high (tables are often higher than proper desks) you may want to get a footrest, they are not expensive
3. If you use a laptop either get a separate screen or a separate keyboard and laptop stand.  The former is probably better, the latter probably easier to stow away when you are not working...either is a godsend.  The distance between the keyboard and screen on a laptop is insufficient to find a posturally decent position for working.  They're fine for short bursts but if it is all day you are going to be sat with your neck and back bent and that will cause problems.  Likewise a separate mouse is probably a good idea, using the tracker pad on the laptop with the laptop directly in the right place for the keyboard puts your arm in quite an unnatural position
4. Get your eyes tested and try to avoid glare on the screen (that might mean investing on some blinds and/or using lamps rather than overhead lighting), we don't want you getting headaches
5. Take regular breaks.  At work you'd get up and move around the office to talk to people.  Do the same at home.  Set an alarm, if needs be,. to remind you once an hour to get up and stretch your legs, make a cuppa etc
6. Go home from work.  Few people work set hours these days but the commute time should be your bonus for the inconvenience of working from home, don't feel that 'should' be work time.  If you can, pack away the work stuff at the end of the day, or at least at the weekend, so your home feels like a home again.