Stress Linked to Increasing the Rate of Aging

When someone says, “all this stress is putting more grey hair on my head,” they are not exaggerating at all. Scientists are finding a strong connection between high stress and skin wrinkles.  New findings are showing that being exposed to high emotional and mental stress for an extended period of time can accelerate the aging process of your skin. If left unchecked, this means that wrinkles and age spots will appear much sooner and become more defined. This leads people to turn to Botox and fillers to combat the change in their appearance.

Non-physical stress actually has a direct impact on DNA and can speed up the rate of aging. Telomeres are caps located at the end of each DNA strand and its prime function is to regulate the aging process. The more it shrinks, the faster a person will age. Chronic stress has been linked to accelerating this process and causing the telomeres to shrink more rapidly. Shorter telomeres can also increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and Alzheimer’s.

Chronic stress has also been shown to have a number of other negative health impacts from insomnia to weight gain to an increased risk for heart disease. It also impairs the immune and digestive systems as well as the central nervous system. Although more research is still needed to confirm the exact mechanisms by which psychological stress contributes to biological aging, it is an undeniable fact that stress is a major contributor to premature aging.

Types of Stress

Rumination is a form of stress that scientist classify as having negative thoughts and/or deep worrying. People can experience this form of stress when they are going through a difficult phase in their life where they often feel overwhelmed or have no control over their life. Doctors typically use the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) when diagnosing a patient to measure how unpredictable, uncontrollable and overloaded the patient is feeling.

Studies show that work-related stress can have a harmful effect on critical DNA in the cells of the body. Researchers measured the length of DNA sections called telomeres and found that individuals with the most job stress had the shortest telomeres. When telomeres become too short, the cells can die or become damaged. Those who did not experience work exhaustion had longer telomeres. Telomere shortening has been linked to Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Extensive research has shown that the mere anticipation of stress can increase an individual’s risk of age-related disorders.

Subjecting the body to chronic stress has been shown to contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Recent research has shown that greater stress may be the reason that some women’s brains age more prematurely than men’s.

In addition to speeding up the heart rate and increasing blood pressure, production of the stress hormone, adrenaline, can also lead to temporary vision and hearing loss.

De-Stressing

New research suggests that it could be beneficial to spend a few minutes each day meditating in order to get rid of stress. Meditation has long been heralded in history as a way of controlling and managing the emotions of a person along with the mind. New research shows that meditation can actually slow down the shrinkage of telomeres which also slows down aging as a result. A study done in 1982, by Dr. Keith Wallace, showed that people who meditated daily for 5 years or longer tended to look younger than their biological age.

There are other things people can do to effectively relieve stress besides meditating. The alternative is not as straight-forward as sitting down in a quiet room while thinking deeply. In fact, doctors suggest that a great way to manage stress is by training the brain. This method requires consistency and aims to modify the way people respond to stressful phases in life. However, some people are more prone to falling into depression or anxiety.  Solving problems thoughtfully and exerting control over a situation are great ways to coax the brain into managing stress better. Realizing that anyone has the power to smile and influence their happiness might be more useful than simply meditating.

Peace of Mind

Depending on their jobs and daily challenges in life, some people deal with more stress than others. This is why there is no miracle cure when it comes to treating stress and why some people find it harder than others. Just know that, no matter where a person is at in life, there will come a point where they will be subjected to intense pressure and emotional strain. If they are unable to deal with it, stress can have a severe negative impact on their looks and overall health.

People should aim to get in touch with their inner-self and strive to never let stress get the better of them. They should consider joining a yoga class or a group therapy class to get the necessary practice they need to maintain a healthy mind. They should also aim to simply take a few minutes out of their day to meditate in order to get peace of mind and stay youthful in appearance.