This is how too much stress can cause ageing, from a longevity expert
The health impact of stress has been part of the wellness conversation for years. But as well as impacting your daily mental and physical health, stress has also been associated with the ageing process.
Whether stress causes ageing is part of the wider interest in longevity that's been piqued over the past few years. With people like Brian Johnson, the man biohacking his way to living forever, going viral and Blue Zones (the places live for the longest) being a source of study, we're all keen to look at ways to future-proof our lives.
Perhaps counterintuitively, we can't seem to avoid stress. The 2025 Burnout Report, published by the charity Mental Health UK, found that 91% of adults have felt extreme pressure or stress in the past year.
Ageing and anti-ageing is a topic that goes much further than just wrinkles, by the way. 'In the realm of longevity, we differentiate between chronologic age and physiologic or biological age,' explains Dr Sandra Kaufmann, a medical doctor, expert in cellular biology and founder of the longevity method The Kauffman Protocol.
'Accurate measurement of the latter remains a challenge, but scientists are approaching it from many angles. For example, some studies consider epigenetic changes in DNA while others measure very different variable such as respiratory capacity. The issue is that we age for many reasons and some aspects of us age at different speeds than others.'
Does stress cause ageing?
Before we answer this burning question, Dr Kaufmann is keen to explain exactly what stress is.
'Stress is a concept where external situations are perceived by the mind and body as challenging or threatening. The resulting physical reactions can be a fast heart rate, change in blood pressure, a headache, abdominal pain or an inability to perform tasks.
'If we trace this further, we can measure changes in cortisol levels, adrenalin, and norepinephrine,' she says.
While these sound like short-term changes, they can have a longer-lasting impact on individual cells. 'That's where real ageing begins,' says Dr Kaufmann. Meaning: yes, stress can cause ageing.
Why does stress cause ageing?
It all comes down to oxidative stress, says Dr Kaufmann. 'Oxygen, necessary for energy production in the mitochondria, is an unstable molecule. It morphs into toxic molecules called Reactive Oxygen Species that destroy other important molecules and structures,' she says.
'Under emotional or physical stress, mitochondria produce more Reactive Oxygen species, leading to collagen breakdown, DNA damage and the failure of key lipids holding cells together. Therefore, perceived stress leads to real cellular failure and advanced ageing.'
How much stress causes ageing?
That doesn't mean one small stressor in your day is making your biological age race ahead of the number of candles on your cake. In fact, some stress can be good for us.
'Small amounts of stress are frequently considered beneficial or hormetic as a cell or tissue can develop some degree of resilience. Placing challenging loads on a muscle for example, results in muscle hypertrophy which is more able to sustain the load,' says Dr Kaufmann.
'Larger amounts of stress, however, can be significantly overwhelming to the system resulting in tissue collapse.'
There's no way to tell what 'large' amounts of stress is. You may intuitively know if you are someone who encounters a lot of challenging moments in life, or are going through a particular bout of high stress that is impacting your health. However, the quantity of stress that causes issues will be different for everyone.
'Some people can physiologically cope with greater physical and emotional demands than others. If we wanted to truly measure it, however, changes in vital signs could represent levels of stress. For example, the resting heart rate of an individual is going to increase significantly as levels of stress become greater and greater,' says Dr Kauffman.
Can ageing from stress be reversed?
De-stressing is important for a variety of reasons: it can support mental health, improve physical performance and, it turns out, reduce the impact of ageing.
'De-stressing activities, such as yoga, walking or breathwork, alleviate the mitochondrial stress, reducing the production of Reactive oxygen molecules,' says Dr Kaufmann.
'Another way to deal with stress is the introduction of dietary supplements or foods that act as scavengers for the toxic molecules, reducing the negative effects. This approach is popularised by the idea of consuming antioxidants.
'Many supplements and drinks claim to contain these molecules, however the quality found in these consumables is generally not sufficient to really make a dent in the problem.
'Avoiding stress would be nice, however, in the real world stress is unavoidable. Therefore, knowing it’s coming, we can prepare ourselves both psychologically and physiologically. On the cellular side, load up with free radical scavengers ahead of any known stressors to decrease any potential tissue damage.'
If the benefits of de-stressing for your fitness, memory and skin aren't enough, let staying healthier for longer be the reason you finally chill.
More like this:
You Might Also Like
