Growing grey hairs from stress is an old adage, however, it is well documented that high levels of stress does greatly affect your health. New research from the University of California at San Francisco sheds light on how major stressful events like losing a job or going through a divorce affect us on a cellular level.
White blood cells were analyzed at the beginning and end of the study. The white blood cells of participants who experienced higher levels of stress aged more quickly and were thus less effective at fighting off infections. Participants who exercised less, ate poorly, and slept less had increased aging effects on their white blood cells. The findings suggest “that keeping active, and eating and sleeping well during periods of high stress are particularly important to attenuate the accelerated aging of our immune cells”.
For more details on this story, read the original article at LiveScience