Credits: Social Media
New study explains what makes you look and feel older when stressed
We all know what its like to feel as if weve aged about 10 years after a tough week at work and a new study has examined the factors that make people feel older after being under stress.
Exposure to stress over an extended period of time is often blamed for changes in physical appearance as people get older, such as the loss or graying of hair as well as gaining or losing weight. But the study, conducted by researchers at North Carolina State University, found that stressors in day-to-day life can impact our perceived sense of aging in just a few days.
Study explores what makes people look and feel older when stressed
The study, published in the journal Mental Health Science, examined a sample of 107 adults aged 18 to 36 who were given a daily questionnaire about the stresses they faced and were asked to state the age they felt (felt age) as well as the age they thought that they looked (look age).
Daily stressors are events that can happen throughout the day that can have an immediate negative impact on your emotional state and can include things like traffic jams, attending an important meeting while at work, or even burning food while cooking in the evening.
Over the course of just nine days, a clear pattern emerged as the study found that the more stressors a person encountered during the day, the older they perceived themselves to be when filling in the questionnaire compared with their actual age.
Something that countered the perceived feeling of aging in stressful situations was something known as control beliefs. These are assumptions that a person has of their ability to influence events that take place in their lives.
For example, they may be able to control their daily routine and finish work at a set time or will simply feel more confident in their ability to overcome challenges. This compares with someone who may not have a set routine or who may feel that a challenge is overwhelming to them.
These control beliefs are different from person to person and the study found that those with a stronger sense of control over their days werent as impacted by the perceived aging effect as those who had a weaker sense of control.
- UP AND AT ‘EM: I tried the 2-by-3 alarm rule for a week and its massively changed my morning routine
A warning for younger generations
The impacts of stress on older generations is a topic that has already been covered in a wide array of research but the same cannot be said of younger generations.
As this paper focused on a group of 18 to 36-year-olds, it provided its authors with a fascinating insight into the lesser-studied age group and prompted a warning of the potential effects of prolonged stress leading into mid-life.
Shevaun Neupert, corresponding author of the study and a professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, said: This work may be particularly timely, as stress researchers are seeing an increase in the amount of stress younger adults are experiencing now, when compared to the amount of stress previous generations experienced when they were young.”
We know that experiencing chronic stress over time can have adverse effects, and that people generally report increasing levels of stress as they move from young adulthood to midlife – their 40s and 50s,” Neupert explained. “If these young people are already experiencing historically high levels of stress for their age, and that stress is affecting how old they feel, it will be important for us to pay close attention to the markers we use to assess stress-related physical and mental health for this generation.”
