Health Blog: Is Stress Making You Old Before Your Time?

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Stress causes aging

Don’t you wish sometimes that you had a shut-off switch for demands on your time? Seriously, how many of you find yourself checking your e-mail at ungodly hours? Often precious downtime is consumed by our willingness to be constantly available by electronic means.

When we go, go, go without enough downtime, or we constantly worry about things – most of which (thankfully) never materialize – we create an unfavourable stress response that can rob us of our youth, biologically speaking.

When our bodies perceive stress, they release specialized hormones (adrenaline and cortisol), as well as neurotransmitters (norepinephrine and dopamine) that help us deal with the stress until it subsides. This fight-or-flight response is a necessary part of the body’s defense system, but the chemicals it produces can wear our bodies down if experienced continuously. It's called aging.

Stress shortens telomeres … and our lives

Until recently, longevity scientists could only theorize why this was so. Some conjectured that it was because the majority of our cells have a finite number of times they are able to divide and every time these cells divide, they lose a small piece of DNA called a telomere. Scientists believed that the shortening of these telomeres is – to a significant degree – responsible for the aging process.

In 2004, researchers from the University of California discovered that women who experienced the highest levels of perceived stress have telomeres that are much shorter than women who experience low stress. Researchers concluded that these shortened telomeres were equivalent to at least one decade of additional aging.[i]

Java jitters: Caffeine adds to our stress

Our hectic lifestyles and constant worrying are far from the only culprits when it comes to stress. The majority of people today unwittingly exacerbate their stress response by consuming too many caffeinated beverages – especially coffee.

Caffeine in coffee has been shown to elevate stress hormones[ii], over and above the body’s natural response, for many hours after consumption.[iii] Researchers from Duke University published a study in 2002 showing that the stress hormones elevated by moderate daily caffeine consumption (500mg of caffeine daily, about five 8oz/250mL cups) caused blood-pressure elevations and increases in stress reactivity that could contribute to an increased risk of coronary heart disease in the adult population.[iv]

Some ways to battle stress … and cortisol

One of the biggest culprits in premature aging is the powerful stress hormone cortisol. Elevated cortisol is known to degrade muscle tissue (the metabolic engine of the body) and, according to research published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, loss of lean body mass (muscle) is the main reason we prematurely age.[v] As indicated, excess caffeine can overstimulate cortisol, possibly contributing to muscle wasting.

So, it would be wise at least to lower your consumption of coffee in order to lessen the burden on your stress response. Aside from drinking less coffee, we can also benefit from supplements (referred to as recuperatives and adaptogens) that can significantly help strengthen our bodies against the negative affects of stress. Ashwagandha, Rhodiola rosea, and raw adrenal glandulars in combination can be particularly effective.

Taking it slow – and balancing necessary downtime with moderate availability by e-mail and wireless – may be your best bets for a longer, healthier life.   

By the way … have you ever had one of those days when everything seems to go wrong? The next time this happens, try petting a pooch or picking up a cat. Aside from the usual ways we try to deal with stress – mediating, exercising, or taking a hot bath – animals may provide the best stress relief possible. State University of New York researchers discovered that people actually perceive stressful events much less when their pets are around, compared with how they felt with a friend … or even their spouse. Researchers concluded that pets exert significant cardiovascular and behavioural benefits for their owners.[vi]

Brad King may be reached at bioage@shaw.ca 

You can read Brad's next health blog, Metabolic Aging: Muscle Your Way to a Longer Life, and his other health blogs here.

Click here to return WellWise.org's home page. 

References

[i] Epel ES, et al. Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Dec 7;101(49):17312-5.

[ii] Lane JD. Neuroendocrine responses to caffeine in the work environment. Psychosom Med. 1994 May-Jun;56(3):267-70.

[iii] Lovallo, W.R., et al. Stress-like adrenocorticotropin responses to caffeine in young healthy men. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. 1996 Nov;55(3):365-9.

[iv] Lane JD, et al. Caffeine affects cardiovascular and neuroendocrine activation at work and home.
Psychosom Med. 2002 Jul-Aug;64(4):595-603.

[v] Ravaglia G. Determinants of functional status in healthy Italian nonagenarians and centenarians: a comprehensive functional assessment by the instruments of geriatric practice. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997 Oct;45(10):1196-202.

[vi] Allen K, Blascovich J, Mendes WB. Cardiovascular reactivity and the presence of pets, friends, and spouses: the truth about cats and dogs. Psychosom Med. 2002 Sep-Oct;64(5):727-39.