Does the ‘Gravity Aging Hypothesis’ Explain Why We Get Old?
Taking on a “it’s just that straightforward” theory making the rounds on social media
History is full of stories of people searching for ways to live longer. From the quixotic search in the Middle Ages for the “philosopher’s stone” that could grant eternal life to Juan Ponce de León’s quest for the fountain of youth, which led him to Florida, people have strived for a way to slow aging.
The newest theory, according to one billionaire CEO’s LinkedIn posts and his surprisingly polished website and posts on other social media?
Gravity.
That’s right. Gravity is making you age. Curse you, Earth, for pulling us down! You’re pulling the youth right out of me, through the soles of my feet!
Let’s look at this hypothesis, dubbed the “gravity aging hypothesis,” see what it claims, and see where it might fall apart.
My heart cannot compete against insidious gravity
Thankfully, Deepinder Goyal’s website has a great TL;DR (short for “too long; didn’t read”) at the top. It serves to lay out the gravity aging hypothesis pretty well, so I don’t have to dig through a long, meandering manifesto to find the nugget that they claim to be true.
The theory basically says:
Because the brain is above the rest of the body, it gets less blood whenever we are upright.
Over long periods of time, the slightly reduced blood flow damages neurons in the brain.
This cascades into dysregulation of the body, since the brain controls the body through hormones and autonomic control (heart rate, breathing rate, immune responses, etc.).
So, how do we fight this?
According to Continue Research, we need to:
Build vascular reserve — long-term capacity through inversions, exercise, hot/cold exposure, breathwork, angiogenesis, and capillary growth.
Keep daily flow high — hour-to-hour habits like posture, hydration, and movement.
Nourish the system — foods and supplements that support nitric oxide, omega-3 balance, and vascular tone.
That all sounds… well, pretty reasonable. But let’s dive a bit deeper into the evidence, and also who’s behind Continue Research.
A one-man band
According to a press release, Continue Research is just a fund set up by its founder and sole employee, Deepinder Goyal.
Goyal co-founded the Indian food delivery company called Zomato, which was a massive success and spread to global markets. It’s currently valued at around $22 billion. In February 2025, the parent company was renamed to Eternal, branching out to also offer grocery delivery, restaurant supplies, and ticketing for live events.
In October 2025, Goyal announced that he was putting $25 million into a fund, Continue Research, devoted to providing grants for “aging moonshot” research. Essentially, he put out this gravity aging hypothesis and is looking for researchers to prove it.
(Goyal doesn’t appear to have any sort of formal education in biology or medicine, but he does have an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion USD.)
On the hypothesis page, Continue also cites a number of researchers, who all seem to exist (sometimes, these are fictitious!).
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Their statements are quite short, however, and might not be as supportive as they’re depicted to be. For example, here’s Andrew Yang, Ph.D, from UCSF:
“Continue Research is an exciting new initiative that can advance the field and support bold new ideas to understand key mechanisms of aging. Their hypothesis on gravity, cerebral blood flow, and the brain’s regulatory centers is a thought-provoking and refreshing example of creative thinking.”
Dr. Yang could be a strong supporter. Or, this could be academic-speak for “it should remain a creative thinking exercise.”
It’s also interesting that some of these researchers have publications that directly oppose the Gravity Aging Hypothesis. For example, David Salat, Ph.D, from the Harvard Medical School is quoted as saying:
“Cerebrovascular health and changes in the blood supply to the brain throughout life are becoming recognized as central mechanisms underlying […] functional aging. The ability of the vascular system to adequately counter the constant impacts of daily forces such as gravitational fluctuations may explain why some individuals age resiliently[.]”
But in a peer-reviewed publication, Salat presents that sleeping in a supine (flat on your back) position was linked to an increased chance of neurodegenerative disease (such as dementia).
Reading through these comments by experts, the consensus seems to be “this is a really interesting idea that no one’s put out before, and it probably deserves some research.”
What about all that research and evidence?
On the “Scientific Evidence” page, there are a LOT of cited papers. And most of them look pretty valid, and there aren’t examples of quotes being taken wildly out of context. (I did not read every paper cited, but did peruse a sampling of them.)
They do a pretty decent job of establishing:
“Brain age,” based on cell quality from imaging, predicts mortality.
Brains have influence on the rest of the body.
If the brain starts breaking down, it also means that other parts of the body start breaking down. (NOTE: not shown to be causal. It’s not established that dysfunction in parts of the brain directly results in increased aging.)
The brain is fragile and needs a steady flow of blood.
Blood flow to the brain declines with age. (Interestingly, one of the citations is about “super-agers,” noting that people who age exceptionally well have higher blood flow to the brain. This somewhat counteracts the idea that gravity is the main driving factor for aging; if it’s gravity’s fault, how are super-agers immune to gravity?)
It’s easier to pump blood to the brain when we’re horizontal. (Not shown? Whether a temporary drop in blood flow to the brain, like when we stand up and get light-headed, could have a negative impact.)
Chronic low blood flow to the brain when caused by disease leads to brain damage.
Overall, this is pretty reasonable — but note the gaps in the framework:
It’s not proven that brain dysfunction is the driving cause behind aging.
It’s not proven that gravity, or our upright posture, is responsible for long-term brain damage.
It’s not proven that our bodies can’t handle regularly pumping blood ~2 feet up from our heart to keep our brain healthy.
Let’s check one more section: the recommended treatments. I really hope they’re not trying to sell me some sort of shady, unregulated “supplement” pill…
What are the recommendations?
First up, stay hydrated. No issues with that one.
Second, try to maintain an active lifestyle, include aerobic exercise, and get a good night’s sleep. These are great so far!
Third, eat a balanced diet. There’s a little waffling here in promoting the keto diet, but the keto diet is generally regarded as safe when implemented for healthy individuals.
Fourth, practice holding your breath. A little odd, but likely goes along with aerobic exercise, so it’s unlikely to cause any serious health problems.
Fifth, perform yoga poses where the head is below the heart. This is getting shakier — remember, we haven’t proven that gravity is at fault, and the brief periods of holding your head below your heart will likely not make up for the 16 hours a day that you’re sitting upright.
…and that’s about it. There’s mention of an “experimental device” for inverting the body, but the cheat sheet just recommends reclining with your legs higher than your head.
That’s not to say that this is totally safe. There are health risks to inversions! For people with high blood pressure, glaucoma (high pressure in the eyes), heart problems, or inner ear problems, there’s risks — including risks of heart attacks, stroke, coma, and death.
Additionally, hanging upside down creates an increased fall risk, especially if you’re elderly or infirm. (Imagine slipping and falling while trying to climb onto, or out of, a tilting table that holds you upside down! Ouch.)
The overall grade
The idea that gravity plays a role in aging is a novel one, for sure, but it’s probably bunk. (We can also look at the animal kingdom; giraffes live about the same lifespan as the similarly-sized moose, despite having much higher heads. And marine animals all have their heads at the same flat level, yet some marine animals live far longer natural lives than others.)
As far as “crazy fake science claims” go, this billionaire’s pet theory is probably pretty harmless. It’s highly unlikely that it’s true, but the recommendations — eat well, exercise, stay active, get enough sleep, do yoga — aren’t going to make most people ill.
And at least Mr. Goyal seems open to new studies that will test his pet theory with funding, and isn’t pushing a $599 “inversion device.”
Well, that convinced me. I will now spend the majority of my time from this moment forwards hanging upside down like an opossum.