According to newly published research, feeling depressedunhappy and lonely it could speed up aging processes faster than smoking or even certain diseases.
You may have heard references to your ‘biological age’, which, rather than your current Age is one that is influenced by factors such as genetics and lifestyle. Studies previously suggested that the older the biological age, the higher the risk of various diseases and the risk of death, and now researchers have gone one step further and created a digital model of the aging process and the results are really revealers.
Fedor Galkin, co-author of the study and principal scientist at Hong Kong startup Deep Longevity, revealed: “Your body and soul are connected: this is our main message.”
The study, published in the Write in Aging-US Magazinesaw researchers from Deep Longevity, Stanford University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong report how they built an “aging clock” based on data collected from 4,846 adults in 2015 as part of the China Health and Longitudinal Retirement Study (CHARLS). The study included 16 blood biomarkers, including cholesterol and glucose levels, the gender of the participants, and information such as their blood pressure and BMI.
The team found that those in the study who suffered from unhappiness, loneliness and struggled with their mental health saw an increase in their biological age.
“We show that psychological factors, such as feeling unhappy or lonely, add 1.65 years to one’s biological age,” Galkin writes.
While Galkin said the figure is an estimate, the study gives insight into the impact our mental well-being can have on our bodies and how it may be the driving force behind the aging process.
“Taking care of your psychological health is the biggest contributor you can have to slowing down your rate of aging,” he said.
The study also reports that smokers are predicted to be 15 months older than their non-smoking peers and that being married appears to lower biological age by about seven months.
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