Stress increases a person’s biological age. But can the effects be reversed? Researchers have found that biological age is much more dynamic than previously thought.
A new study has revealed that just as stress advances the biological clock, rest and recovery can help reverse the effects.
Biological age is the pace at which a person’s body has aged based on the years lived on Earth or the chronological age. Although chronological age cannot be reversed, a person’s biological age varies based on factors such as disease, environmental exposure, genetics, lifestyle, demographics, diet and exercise habits.
“Traditionally, biological age has been thought to just go up and up, but we hypothesized that it’s actually much more dynamic. Severe stress can trigger biological age to increase but if that stress is short-lived, the signs of biological aging can be reversed,” Jesse Poganik, one of the lead authors of the study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said.
How Stress Changes the Body
Stress can affect all systems of the body including musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous and reproductive systems.
Long-term exposure to stress can increase the risk of hypertension and cause heart attack and stroke.
When a person is stressed, the body releases stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. However, when exposure to stress becomes prolonged, the hormones can cause inflammation and cell damage.
Long-term exposure to stress can also cause oxidative stress, an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in the body that can result in damage to organs and tissues.
How Rest and Recovery Can Help Reverse These Changes
Earlier research has indicated the possibility of short-term fluctuations in biological age. However, the new study explored the possibility of reversing the effect caused by stressors. The findings of the study were published in Cell Metabolism.
The researchers conducted a mice study by surgically attaching the…
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