A man who lived underwater for 100 days provided 'proof' that it actually 'de-aged' him.
Biohacker Bryan Johnson isn't the only person experimenting with ways to reverse ageing. One man claims he did so after spending a record-breaking 100 days living in an underwater habitat 30 feet below a Florida lagoon.
In 2023, Dr. Joseph Dituri, who earned the title 'Dr Deep Sea,' wanted to see how living underwater for an extended period of time would affect his body.
His research focused on hyperbaric medicine, which explores how high-pressure environments help deliver oxygen to the body and promote the growth of new blood vessels.
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For his experiment, the scientist and former naval Commander scuba-dived into a 9m by 9m pod where he monitored his body's reaction to the intense pressure of deep-water living.
"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," explained a 2023 press release. "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."
Dituri actually ended up breaking the world record of 73 days, 2 hours, and 34 minutes by more than 2 weeks before it was overtaken by someone who managed 120 days.
Now, he's offering evidence that his underwater stay actually reversed his ageing process.
When he was driving home from his experiment, Dituri described experiencing ‘sensory stimulation overload.’
He also found that he went through a 'life glitch' which allegedly de-aged him, with his cells appearing younger than when he had gone in.
In an interview with NBC News, Dituri revealed the results of extensive testing he underwent after leaving the underwater pod. He found that his cholesterol had decreased, his inflammation had reduced throughout his body, and his focus and concentration had improved overall. He also reported sleeping better and, despite the confined conditions, maintained his body mass through regular workouts.
Moreover, the biomedical researcher claims that his telomeres - the caps on chromosomes that typically shorten with age - are not as long as they were when he first emerged in June, but they are still longer than before his underwater mission.
He also believes his remarkable 'age reversal' was due to living in a high-pressure or 'hyperbaric' environment.
"I'm 56 now. My extrinsic [biological] age was 44. When I got out of the water, my extrinsic age was 34," Dituri told reporters at WKMG News in Orlando. "So, my telomeres lengthened. I actually got younger when I was under the water."