Stress Less, Age Better

In the 1992 comedy Death Becomes Her, characters Madeline Ashton (Meryl Streep) and Helen Sharp (Goldie Hawn) drink a magic potion, hoping to stay young forever.

While there's still no magic potion in real life—even 33 years later—there are small, powerful steps you can take to stay younger and healthier than your biological age.

In fact, there are so many little changes you can make to improve your lifespan and healthspan that later this month, we’re launching a 12-day longevity email series, Enjoy the Ride: Navigating a Longer, Healthier Life. So, keep an eye out for it!

For now, however, a way we can live longer and healthier is to find ways to reduce stress and change how we respond to stressful situations. After all, there’s a reason we use physical descriptions like “I can feel my blood pressure rising” when we’re upset.

Chronic stress negatively affects the body in a number of ways, including aging your cells faster, increasing the likelihood of illness and causing inflammation. And both constant inflammation and high cortisol levels (the stress hormone) contribute to health risks like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, trouble sleeping and even belly fat.

Fortunately, there are ways to manage stress, allowing you to live a longer, healthier life. This includes:

Building strong connections. Studies show that we live longer if we socialize regularly with friends and family members. A few suggest it could increase our survival rate by as much as 50%.

Eating healthy foods. We might tend to reach for candy or chips when we’re stressed out, but processed foods, caffeine, alcohol and sugar can make us feel worse. Instead, go for fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains.

Making sleep a priority. Adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night. That rest helps your body reduce cortisol levels as well as emotional and physical tension.

Managing your time well. It’s understandable if you’re overwhelmed. We all have long to-do lists, but it’s important to set boundaries and make time for the hobbies that you love. Remember, self-care is a vital part of maintaining your health.

Moving often. Physical activity releases mood-boosting endorphins that reduce hormones like cortisol. So, get at least 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise every day.

Simply getting older. That may sound strange, but a 2022 study found people become less affected by “daily stress” as they age. It also found that older people were less emotionally reactive to stressful situations when they happened.

So, what's one small thing you can do today to reduce stress and boost your long-term health? And sorry, the answer isn’t taking a magic potion.

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