Stress may be an age-old human response that harks back to the days when we needed a sharp kick of adrenalin to escape marauding, prehistoric beasts, but what good does it do us today? Not much, I hear you cry. In fact, we're commonly told that modern-day stress is the root cause of many of our health problems, both mental and physical, and is therefore something best avoided at all costs. But new research suggests that some stress can be good for us – and can actually even help us to stay young.
The joy of stress
The human body is a wonderfully clever machine, but one of its greatest enemies is good old-fashioned wear and tear. Until recently, it was assumed that stress added to our physical and mental strain, causing our bodies to break down faster. Just look at all those City types with their adrenalin-fuelled lifestyles and their rapid burn-out rates, right? Well, not necessarily.
Dr Marios Kyriazis, an anti-ageing specialist and the medical director of the British Longevity Society, unveiled his research into the benefits of stress at the second Anti-Ageing Conference in London earlier this year. The results were a surprise to many; the right type of stress, he argued, can actually help the body to bolster its natural defences, keeping us healthier and physically young.
The science bit
The good news is that we all have an internal, self-repairing mechanism that kicks in when our bodies are put under strain, whereby proteins are automatically produced to repair damage to our cells and help rebuild them. The bad news, however, is that this process slows down from about the age of 35. As the body becomes worse at repairing itself, we become gradually more prone to illness and physical decline – and it's here, perhaps rather surprisingly, that the benefits of stress come in.
When we're put under stress our body's responses speed up, forcing the bio-repair action to occur. Theoretically, therefore, placing ourselves in certain stressful situations makes these responses happen more often, reversing the natural decline that takes place over the years. And because the body's response in dealing with the stress is greater than the damage it caused, the cells actually become stronger than they were – a process that's called hormesis.
Think of it as an internal workout for your cells – just as important, potentially, as all those visits to the gym. By regularly 'exercising' your cells with a mild-to-moderate stress workout, you can help keep them strong, flexible and resistant to disease.
'Good' stress versus 'bad' stress
But before you give in to your inner road-rager, bear in mind that only the right kind of stress will do. For maximum health benefits stress needs to be short-term and only mildly stimulating, and with a positive result at the end. Things like racing around to get the house in order before friends come over or meeting a last-minute deadline, for example, or even running for (and catching!) a bus.
Long-term stress is still best avoided – it really does do us damage. Kyriazis cited full-time caring on a low income as one of the worst forms of stress and you can see why – it's relentless, with little reward and no obvious end in sight. Likewise, commuter rage isn't about to become your new best friend, because being stuck in a traffic jam or on a stalled train leads to the kind of frustrating stress you can't control or do anything about. Rather, you need to be presented with a mildly pressurised task (last-minute packing for the airport, finally managing to pre-set your video recorder, etc) that can be dealt with fairly quickly and effectively, and that leaves you with some sense of achievement at the end.
The good news is that once you can identify good stress from bad you can begin to approach tasks with energy instead of dread. The next time your boss tells you that she wants to see that report finished and on her desk in 45 minutes, don't panic; just think of the potential life-enhancing benefits to your long-term health and embrace the challenge with a smile instead.
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