Can stress accelerate aging?
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| Can stress accelerate aging? |
All of us must have felt the curse of stress at some part in our life. Both the older and the comparatively younger persons are forced to face difficult situations and learn to coexist with them. While the elderly persons are to deal with physical and financial problems, the younger generation is facing difficulties in their studies, friends, emotional relationships, and workplaces. Luckily, we learn to cope with the difficulties that are the effect of stress in due course of time. But during the last couple of decades in our life, the natural defense mechanism of our body fails to perform effectively.
We can spot the relationship between how we live and how we die. The earlier in our life we are confronted by stress, the scenario becomes worse. Stress will leave a negative impact on the way we become older and how the fact occurs.
In earlier years, the belief was that animals that have lower heart rates will live longer. No more that is considered reliable. The modern hypothesis is that it is because of the long-term effects of various stressors and stress hormones that are responsible for accelerating the aging process.
A specific case is very much interesting and has a worth separate study. It is the relation between the body and the secretion of glucocorticoid hormones during stress. The hypothalamus present in the central nervous system regulates the secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal gland by releasing a hormone – Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (CRH). CRH consequently commands the adrenal gland to release glucocorticoid hormones.
How does the hypothalamus decide when there is enough glucocorticoid in the blood pool? Actually, it is regulated by the mechanisms present in our body for controlling the secretion of all the hormones. The hypothalamus controls the secretion of CRH and consequently the glucocorticoids using a feedback mechanism. Hypothalamus in the aged people can not work as it should. This is the reason for the higher level of glucocorticoids in the blood even if the person is not suffering from any kind of stress.
What may be the reason for the malfunctioning of the feedback system? The answer is not obvious, but the most likely reason is the increased level of glucocorticoids during the period of chronic stress. Again it may be concluded that prolonged exposure to glucocorticoids will result in Hippocampal damage, which may lead to more glucocorticoids being released into the bloodstream.
Hippocampal damage leads to another disease called – Alzheimer’s disease. This is undoubtedly one of those extremely debilitating diseases known to man. Hippocampus is a part of the brain that is a vital area for storage and retrieving memories. This is the reason; that persons suffering from full-blown Alzheimer’s disease can not recall any of their long-term or short-term memory.
Experts have proved that chronic stress can accelerate the rate of aging. So it is imperative to say that everybody should control stress as far as possible.
You can do some relaxation techniques. You can do a course on yoga and meditation. These two ways have an immense potential for relieving stress. Regular exercise is another effective approach. Fix a time from your schedule every day that is suitable for you to exercise. Regular workout helps to wash out the surplus stressors and stress hormones from your body. Proper planning in life is essential to reduce stress. You must bring laughter into your life.