What you experience through your senses — sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch — can impact how healthy you are and how long you live, says neurobiologist Christi Gendron. She explores how environmental cues like temperature, light and even just the sight of death have influenced the lifespan of fruit flies, suggesting your everyday perceptions may have direct repercussions on your ability to live a long, healthy life.

The science of lifespan — and the impact of your five senses

What people see, smell, hear, taste, and touch can influence not just daily choices but also overall health and life expectancy. Fruit flies exposed to the sight of their dead companions lose weight and die sooner, showing that even brief sensory events trigger profound biological changes. Experiments reveal that the same molecules and brain regions involved in sensory processing in flies exist in humans. Environmental cues like temperature, food smells, and even light affect lifespan across many species, hinting at a universal biology of perception and aging.