Healthy ageing

Stress Less, Age Better

Integrative health coach Rosie Underwood explores the real links between stress and ageing

One morning about a year ago, whilst trying to keep a business afloat mid-pandemic, mid-breakup, with ill family members, whilst living in a place I no longer wanted to call home, I optimistically entered my bathroom to get ready for a day of work. I caught my reflection, and instead of seeing the bright eyed and bushy tailed optimist I’d grown to love over the years, I was horrified to see someone I could barely recognise staring back at me. The stress of that ‘Covid cloud’ had quite literally etched itself onto my face. I had tired eyes with delightful big dark circles framing them, thin hair, no meat on my bones, and fragile limbs that kept getting injured. To add insult to literal injury, my memory had become that of a 90-yearold’s, and I had absolutely no idea why I was standing there in the bathroom in the first place, staring at this very sorry reflection of mine (get the violins out.)

Maybe it’s the rise in technology, maybe its social media, maybe it’s work, relationships, pandemics, finances, or the fact that we get rallied and applauded for the same things that burn us out. Whatever the reason, stress levels are reaching a plateau in our society and this shows up in our hair, eyes, skin and body in ways that can age us at warp speed. The good news? Luckily, our bodies rejuvenate themselves and we can not only age better, but reverse the signs of ageing by using basic daily hacks to trigger the relaxation response. This, in turn, helps to stop our psychological stress from developing into inflammation.

What stress is doing underneath our skin

So, let’s get clear on the damage with a quick science lesson. The stress hormone cortisol is no friend to our appearance, particularly our skin. “Any inflammation is down to stress, you don’t need to look any further” says Tarryn Warren, Bodyism global’s bespoke skincare specialist. “Stress causes the over production of cortisol stimulating a mast cell response. This means inflammation, achy bones, reddened skin, inflamed sinuses and thinning hair. All of a sudden everything aches. You’re not sick, you are over stressed.” Sound all too familiar? Read on…

How to mitigate ageing and stress… Its totally doable

Yes, we’ve established that stress is by far the overriding factor at the rate in which we appear to grow older, (just look at any image of any president before and after they’ve been in office, and boom, there’s your answer.) But the upside is, our bodies respond quite quickly to the benefits of down time.

The lie we’ve all been sold for what feels like millennia is to reach for topical application, and hey presto, you’ve defied the laws of nature. “The key is not to turn to a million more products,” adds Warren. “Take an hour and turn off your phone and allow your body to do what is was born to do. Allow it to heal, repair, regulate and digest and everything else will calm, settle and restore.”

Deep belly breathing and shifting stress perception

We’re so over stimulated these days that people find effort in the ease of relaxation. Endless to-do lists mean that making time just to sit in stillness almost nigh on impossible. If we’re to look at a room full of adults these days, you see everyone breathing into their chests instead of their diaphragms. This is a big indicator that we’re subconsciously in fight or flight without utilising the biochemical changes that happen in the body when hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are pumped through the system. This is stress having a field day in the body.

To get ourselves out of the red zone, make the time each day to deeply breathe into the diaphragm (yes, it’s that simple.) When we breathe in this way, we aid the digestive system and bring blood back to our vital organs, as the body learns that it’s not under immediate threat and slips into rest and digest (the parasympathetic nervous system.) It’s a game changer.

But let’s get one thing straight. Having learnt the hard way, no one lives a totally stress-free life, and there is such a thing as good stress. Without stress we’re barely alive, the stress we feel when we embark on a challenging hike, or a cold-water swim, or that feeling before we turn over an exam paper, those stress hormones only stay in our blood system for short periods of time and serve to keep us stimulated through life’s highs and lows. My biggest takeaway? Cultivating heathy habits through stressful times is critical to ageing healthily, and it’s not about how many stressful events come our way, it’s how we react to them. So, take a deep breath, keep calm and carry on, let yourself off the hook and remember you’re a human being not a human doing. You’re doing great.

Move your body:

Give back to the body by simply moving it, getting your heart rate pumping, breaking a sweat, even by just a small amount effects cortisol levels by producing Beta Endorphins, this means that stress hormones are dispersed and not swimming around in our blood stream causing mayhem. “As opposed to mental stress, physical stress puts the right amount of pressure on our bodies, so that in turn, our bodies become more resilient,” says osteopath and movement coach Jessica Lambert. “Just be sure to match any high-intensity training with some mental and physical downtime to follow to get the full benefits.”

Avoid screen time:

It’s no surprise that social media is driving feelings of inadequacy, sending us into ‘doom scrolling’ bombarding our brains with too much information. We’re living in a time that constantly reminds us we’re lacking in something which no surprise, stokes the fire of anxiety and stress. Put the phone away and breathe deeply.

Sleep is your best friend:

We all know that a lack of sleep and mood are closely tied, but yet so many of us forgo sleep in a bid to catch up on work or life admin. Throw our new friend blue light into the equation and simply getting to the land of nod is a challenge. When we sleep, internal organs rest and repair, memory consolidation occurs and strengthening of your natural immunity gets boosted. So, it’s vital that we adopt routines that prioritise a good night’s beauty sleep to reverse the damage caused by stress in our waking hours.