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Stress makes young adults look older only on specific days, says study
Chronic stress has adverse effects on overall well-being. It’s known to manifest into physical symptoms in older people while affecting appearance in the younger age groups.
Positive emotions, like gratitude, are proven to contribute to a better and longer life. While stress can make you feel and look aged, its effects are prominent only in specific situations.
Study shows impact stress has on young adults
Hairfall, sleeplessness, acne, and more are the most common and known symptoms of stress. But did you know stress, especially in people in their 20s and 30s, can alter their appearance?
To understand the impact of common mental distress on young adults, researchers surveyed 107 young adults aged between 18 and 36.
The survey was designed to capture the amount of stress they experienced daily, how much control they felt they had over their lives during a stressful event, and how old they felt and looked on such a day.
- EXPERT OPINION: Nobody admits to experiencing the ‘ugliest’ human emotion
Commenting on the findings of the study, the corresponding author of the NC State University study, Shevaun Neupert said:
The key finding was that on days when study participants reported experiencing higher levels of stress than they normally did, they also reported looking and feeling older.”
The study established that the adverse effect of stress is not limited to older adults only and that it could add to the mounting mental distress young adults experience.
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,” said the researcher.
Its effects are prominent under one circumstance
Although stress can affect your looks, it has a stronger hold you on when you feel you are not in control of your life – the other key finding of the study.
However, this was only true on days when study participants also reported feeling that they had less control over their lives than they normally did,” the research notes.
Often, one negative thought is all it takes for our minds to spin out of control. But a simple mental exercise can prevent you from spiraling into despair.
As discussed earlier, you can train your brain to deal with any issue differently, so you dont fall into a bottomless pit of darkness.
Being mindful of overwhelming thoughts helps you realize that your mind is playing tricks by overgeneralizing the same and the feeling is only temporary. This hack also prevents you from looking older than your age by simply taking control of the life event.
