How you could live to 190: Scientists discover the ultimate limit of the human lifespan

A scientific study has suggested that the human lifespan may have an upper biological limit of about 190 years, based on the point at which the body can no longer recover from illness, injury or other stresses. The finding matters because it challenges the idea that advances in medicine alone could allow people to live indefinitely, while highlighting the importance of improving healthy ageing rather than simply extending life.

Researchers examined how resilience declines with age, using changes in blood measurements and physical activity as indicators of the body’s ability to return to normal after disruption. They estimated that this recovery capacity eventually falls to zero between roughly 120 and 150 years for most people, with an extreme theoretical maximum near 190; this is a model-based projection, not evidence that humans can currently reach that age.