In the meantime, the study might suggest that the haggard look and feel we get after a particularly stressful period in life might not be forever. We just need to make sure we actually take the time to recover from it.
Chronic stress can lead to DNA damage that causes us to age faster, developing a haggard appearance. Fortunately, there are some healthy habits that can counteract stress and powerful non-surgical treatments that can support youth, beauty, and overall mental wellness.
Lack of exercise. Not maintaining a healthy muscle tone makes you look older. Exercise can help keep your muscles toned and can increase tone. Fix: Start some kind of exercise program that includes weight training. Lack of proper sleep/rest. The less rest you have, the more haggard you look.
Simply put, biological age reflects the current condition of the body. Chronic stress can make you age faster by increasing your biological age, which can lead to health problems on top of cosmetic skin concerns. However, some researchers suggest that biological age can fall once again after a stressor subsides.
When you are under stress or anxious, this system kicks into action, and physical symptoms can appear — headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, shakiness, or stomach pain. Doctors see it all the time — patients with real pain or other symptoms, but nothing is physically wrong with them.
Poor sleep: Studies show that low quality (or not enough) sleep makes your cells age faster. Stress: When you're stressed, your brain pumps out cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol blocks two substances that keep your skin looking plump and vibrant: hyaluronan synthase and collagen.
Stressed skin occurs when your skin struggles to perform its natural functions due to internal or external pressures – leading to symptoms like dryness, dullness, fine lines, and sagging.
Psychological stress can affect the skin. High amounts of cortisol — the stress hormone — can break down the skin's collagen and elastin, and form wrinkles.
Wrinkles are a natural part of aging. These lines and creases in the skin are most likely to form on skin that's often exposed to the sun, such as the face, neck, hands and forearms. Pollutants and smoking also speed the aging process. Using sunscreen every day and quitting smoking help prevent some wrinkling.
Stress-induced increases in biological age are reversible. Exposure to stress increased biological age in humans and mice, but it decreased after the stress resolved, according to NIA-funded research. Findings from the study were published in Cell Metabolism.
A lack of sleep, dehydration, and environmental stressors can all contribute to tired-looking skin.
This means that when we experience chronic stress from work, relationships or current events, the skin is both a target and a source of stress hormones, which can make the skin more vulnerable to itch, inflammation, irritation, and infection,” said board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr MD, FAAD.
Bad stress, however, is the kind that wears you out, leaves you jittery and is harmful to your health. Bad stress, or distress, can lead to anxiety, confusion, poor concentration and decreased performance. Bad stress can be short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic).
In women, depression often appears in the form of sadness, for example, exhibiting a depressed face that doesn't align with their typical appearance, or feelings of worthlessness and guilt. But in men, it may manifest as irritability and anger.
The swelling can make your face look round and puffy. Moon face is a common side effect of corticosteroid use and a symptom of certain health conditions. Although harmless, the condition can affect your self-esteem. The medical term for this is moon facies, but other people call it cortisol face.
Drinking too much caffeine or consuming too much salt can lead to water retention in the area. Meanwhile, dehydration, an unhealthy lifestyle, and an inconsistent skincare regimen are some of the primary causes of dull, dry skin. Luckily, all these haggard face traits are reversible.
Skin: Things like excessive sun damage, liver spots, and enlarged pores are common foes that age our skin quicker than we'd like. Another thing that may affect your skin and make it look older is an uneven complexion caused by loss of collagen and elastin.
Mental symptoms of emotional stress include: Feeling more emotional than usual, especially feeling grumpy, teary, or angry. Feeling anxious, overwhelmed, nervous, or on edge. Feeling sad or depressed.