How We Handle Stress Predicts How Well We Age

Researchers are viewing stress as one of the most significant factors for predicting how well we age. Studies show that if we learn to manage and reduce our stress load we have a better chance of living a long and healthy life.

Impact of Stress

At least 70 percent of all the illnesses in the United States are related to stress. Everyone experiences stress from time to time. Some people cope with stress more effectively than others. We all experience the routine stress of daily living. We may also experience stress brought about by sudden negative changes such as traumatic accidents, illness, divorce, death of a loved one, or a natural disaster.

What happens when we experience prolonged chronic stress? Different people feel stress in different ways. Common manifestations of stress are anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system.

Stress can create rashes and hives, be responsible for gastrointestinal problems and contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.

Stress tends to affect the cognitive ability of the brain. The release of stress hormones can result in memory loss, confusion and lack of concentration. If a high level of stress continues over time we can find ourselves seriously handicapped in situations where mental agility and alertness is required.

It is difficult to think of any disease not affected by stress. We might be able chalk up certain “senior moments" to stress because stress hormones are especially hard on older brains in general.

Stress and Aging:

Aging has become the subject of many books and articles in recent years. Approximately 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. By 2030 demographers project that 70 million people, about 20 percent of the US population, will be 65 or older.

Tara Parker-Pope, a staff reporter of the Wall Street Journal, wrote, “Increasingly, researchers are viewing stress – how much stress we face in a lifetime, and how well we cope with it – as one of the most significant factors for predicting how well we age.”

Robert Sapolsky, a Stanford University neuroendocrinologist, writes, “We now know that aging is about a body that doesn’t deal well with stress anymore.”

Studies show that the healthiest agers are adept at shutting off the stress response when it is necessary because the older we get the longer it takes for our bodies to turn off the stress response.

How to Successfully Handle Stress

We need to understand how stress affects our lives because stress can at times feel overwhelming. There is no right or wrong way to cope with stress. Managing stress involves:

1. Changing stressful situations when we can.
2. Changing our reaction when we cannot change the situation.
3. Taking care of ourselves by making time for rest and relaxation.
4. Talking to a trusted friend and learning from their experiences.
5. Making a list of those things that stress us
6. Consider taking a stress management class, meditation, massage, yoga, etc.

Other ways to manage stress include:

1. Recognizing the signs of our body’s response to stress, such as difficulty sleeping.
2. Getting regular exercise.
3. Setting goals and priorities.
4. Learning when to say no.
5. Staying connected with people who can provide emotional support.

If you feel overwhelmed with stress, get help from a professional. You may wish to visit www.mentalhealth.gov or the NIMH website at www.nimh.nih.gov. Their email is: nimhinfo@nih.gov.