Stress affects your biological age, but you’re not going to quit your job

Strictly speaking, my biological age. Compared to chronological age, “biological age” may better reflect how resistant the body is to father time. Biological age is based on chemical marks, or epigenetic changes, that affect how genes are expressed. Because epigenetic changes accumulate over time, they can indicate how quickly we are aging. In recent years, scientists have used machine learning and algorithms to identify which epigenetic changes reveal the most about the aging process.

Many companies offer bioage tests.But in Elysium, called indexwhich caught my eye because it provides a unique biological age for the heart, brain, kidneys, and six other body systems. things that age at different rates. The Index was developed by Elysium in collaboration with epigenetics expert Morgan Levine and benefits from new technology that looks at more sites of epigenetic changes, said CEO Eric Marcotulli. said. “We believe this is more accurate and repeatable than any other watch,” he says. luck.

This includes previous versions of Elysium’s Index, which provided one overall age rather than a specific system age. I took it back in 2020 and got a biological age that is 4 years younger than my actual age. The results seemed to reflect my nutritious dietary choices and regular tennis matches. Diet and exercise are key to healthy aging.

But since 2020, a big factor has changed. I switched my field of work from policy making to editing and writing. This role gives me a great sense of purpose, but it also inspires me to work longer and harder. How did having more purpose and having more stress at work affect my biological age?

Research shows that life purpose supports longevity. “People with high purpose generally improve in walking speed, grip strength, and lung function as they age,” says Florida State psychologist Angelina Soutine, who studies lifelong well-being.

On the other hand, striving for perfection in one’s profession can cause a great deal of stress. harm one’s health. Once upon a time, when I was working in policy, his boss would sometimes apologetically suggest, “Don’t kill yourself over this,” when assigning tasks. I gladly complied. But these days, I take fewer shortcuts and work more late into the night. Then, before bed, I turn on the tennis channel and enjoy the plants for an hour of recovery.

“There’s a lot of evidence that stress speeds up aging,” says Soutine.but purposeful Stress is unique, she explains.along with some notable exception, Purposeful people cope better with stress. That’s partly because they think it’s necessary for an important goal, Soutine says. Stressors become intolerable when they cannot be controlled or find meaning in them, such as childhood abuse.accelerate epigenetic aging.

Stress isn’t the only thing to consider. People like me who are highly motivated to engage in a desk job sit in front of a computer all day, more harmful to health than smoking. But Soutine, based on his own research, believes that many dedicated workers aren’t so sedentary after all. “A person with a sense of purpose needs a certain amount of activity to get things done,” she says.

In my case the index provides the last word. or maybe not. Columbia University epidemiologist Daniel Belsky points out that epigenetic testing is subject to measurement error. In large groups, these tests help track lifestyle changes. calorie restriction, affects aging. Spread over thousands of people, the margin of error becomes less important. But “I don’t know if any of these metrics address individual-level analysis,” says Belsky.

He developed such measures. Dunedin PACEThe study is based on a study that took more than 1,000 people born in the late 1970s and looked closely at how their bodies aged over time. “Can you get any information out of it? Probably,” says Belsky. “Tests like Dunedin and Levine [measures] Much less technical errors than some others. However, all of these tests have the same limitations for personal use. ”

Research into new technologies for the Index has been done. published of natural agingMarcoturri says its age measurement is “n of 1 accurate” and practical, accurate and useful not only for the group as a whole, but also for specific people. Leonard Guarente, a biologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and chief scientist and co-founder of Elysium, said the index corresponds to the blood measurements most relevant to each of the nine systems, such as ALT in the liver. Explain that you are using sites of genetic alteration. Because these blood readings are influenced by our daily habits, the numbers in each index are associated with health conditions that “can change and be affected by lifestyle,” Guarente says. .

Nine systems are not all inclusive. Future versions of the Index will capture more aspects of aging, and “that’s where the personalized medicine journey begins,” says Marcoturi.

When I received my results, my overall biological age was below my actual age, just like in 2020. However, some systems were older, such as hormonal systems involving glands such as the thyroid and pancreas.

These glands are, as you might guess, affected by stress. Instead of looking for easier jobs for super aging, I turned to my 7-year-old son for guidance. He often sees things more clearly than I do. “Perhaps work is more important to you than longevity,” he told me.

Perhaps, but I’m not ready to accept either proposal. In that spirit, here are some expert tips for reducing work stress in order to age healthily.

Cultivate optimism. optimistic personA study by Boston University psychologist Levina Lee found that people tend to live longer, either as an innate or developed trait. “They have a more flexible cardiovascular acute stress response profile,” Lee says.

A new study led by researchers at Harvard University found that optimistic people Epigenetic changes are associated with reduced risk of age-related diseases. Look on the bright side at work. It can be a long road.

Achieve optimal stress. Identifying your optimal stress level is key, says Soutine.according to Archis Dodson LawEach person has an ideal amount of pressure that brings out their best work. Exceeding that threshold causes excessive anxiety and degrades performance.

Having fun helps manage work stress meditation, mini break,holiday. Lee suggested another strategy. It is by practicing hormesis and intentionally exposing yourself to stressors such as: freezing cold showerenhances the stress response.

Please evaluate yourself. Beyond biological age, other measures of health and stress associated with aging are backed up by decades of research, Belsky said.one Characteristics of aging, inflammation is revealed by a common blood test for C-reactive protein. Inflammation is one of the nine systems of the index, which tracks epigenetic age based on blood test data, but the underlying numbers can also be informative.

Then there are blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, pulmonary function measurements, and the list goes on and on and gets complicated. Collectively, these measures constitute a “very good toolkit,” but “they tend to require a great deal of expertise to interpret,” says Belsky.

It is easier to access heart rate variability, which reflects the stress as measured by an affordable sensor. If work stress lowers her HRV, I take more mini breaks. Among these measures, biological age is one he should keep in mind. With more data, these tests will continue to improve, and we will learn more about their accuracy in individuals, Belsky said. Until then, don’t shy away from very meaningful work. If pursued in the right way, Your Occupation Could Give You Years Of Healthy Life.