Stem cells can restore and renew damaged tissue in your body. The process of activating these stem cells in adults is still highly experimental, and research is ongoing as to how you can actually activate your stem cells. For healthy adults, there are a few methods that may help you increase the effectiveness your stem cells. If you are trying to activate your stem cells due to a medical condition, visiting a doctor for stem cell therapy or signing up for a clinical trial are your best options.
Method 1: Boosting Your Stem Cells at Home
Exercise 2-3 times a week to preserve your existing stem cells. Adults have fewer stem cells than children do, but exercise may be able to help you preserve your stem cells as you get older.[1] Furthermore, exercise can help stimulate neural stem cells (which are the stem cells in your brain) to keep you mentally sharp.[2]
Try to do vigorous cardio, such as running, 2-3 times a week. Aim for less intensive exercise, such as walking, swimming, tai chi, or yoga, on the other days.
If you are not currently active, start slow with walking, biking, or swimming. Over a few weeks, work your way up to more intensive activity, like running or using an elliptical.
Get between 7-9 hours of sleep to keep your stem cells active. Stem cells may be less effective if you are not getting enough sleep. Their effectiveness can drop by half if you miss more than 4 hours of sleep a week. To help you get enough sleep,[3] Try:
Turning off all electronics and screens 1-2 hours before you go to bed.
Creating a consistent sleeping pattern by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day.
Keeping your bedroom dark and cool.
Apply plant stem cells to your skin to reduce the signs of aging. While they are still being researched, plant stem cells may be able to renew and activate skin stem cells. Many skincare products these days may offer plant stem cells in their formulation. Look for moisturizers, serums, oils, or toners that contain stem cells from 1 of these plants:[5]
Tomato
Ginger
Apple
Edelweiss
Undergo periodic fasts to promote blood stem cells. Fasting for 1-2 days may be able to help you regenerate blood stem cells. If you decide to try fasting, talk to your doctor first to make sure that you are healthy enough to do this. If you have never fasted before, you may want to only fast for 1 day or to try intermittent fasting first.[6]
Try to put 5-7 days between each fast so that your body can repair and respond.
Do not fast more than 3 days total in a month. You can do 1 3-day fast or 3 1-day fasts.
Do not try fasting if you are pregnant or have a history of heart, liver, or kidney problems.
Method 2 : Undergoing Stem Cell Therapy
Educate yourself about the risks of stem cell therapy. Stem cell therapy is not a cure-all for diseases. Using stem cells, especially unregulated or unproven stem cell therapies, can possibly result in infection at the injection site, the growth of tumors, and rejection of donor cells by your immune system. For this reason, it is important that you talk to your primary care doctor before starting therapy.
Avoid going to so-called “stem cell clinics.” These clinics often promote unregulated and unproven therapies, which can cause unpredictable side effects and injures.
Talk to your doctor about stem cells if you have blood, immune, or skin conditions. There are currently only 2 treatments known to be safe and effective forms of stem cell therapy. These are blood stem cell transplants for blood and immune disorders and skin grafts for skin injuries and disorders. If you have 1 of these conditions, talk to your doctor to see if stem cell treatment is right for you.[8]
You can find clinics promising to treat any condition with stem cell therapy, but that does not mean that it has been scientifically proven that stem cell therapy can treat it.
Currently, stem cells are being studied to treat macular degeneration, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and heart disease. If you have either of these conditions, talk to your doctor about joining a clinical trial instead.