Talk Back with Ellen Wood

Nothing ages you faster than this!

Nothing ages you faster than stress. How do we know? Well, let’s back up for a second and define some things. DNA is the genetic material that makes up the chromosomes, and each chromosome starts out with a lengthy protective cap, a specific sequence of DNA, at each end. These caps, called telomeres, are like the plastic-coated tip of a shoelace which keeps the shoelace from unraveling. The caps also function to keep the chromosome from fusing with other chromosomes.

Throughout life, though, and as the cells divide, the telomeres get shorter and shorter. Eventually they become too short to protect the DNA. At this point cellular damage begins to occur, leading to malfunction in crucial organs like the brain, heart, liver, and pancreas. Muscle loss also occurs, and, eventually, extreme weakness and frailty ensue. Scientists are learning that when the telomeres get short enough, the deterioration associated with aging occurs.

In a Harvard-affiliated study, researchers boosted the cellular levels of telomerase, the enzyme that lengthens and repairs telomeres, in mice – and saw significant signs of age reversal. Even fur on the mice that had turned gray was restored to dark fur. The researchers were surprised to see such dramatic results. In measurable ways, the mice grew younger.

Some interesting new studies focus on the relationship between stress, telomere length and cellular aging in humans. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel laureate who first identified the enzyme telomerase, has examined the effect of psychological stress at the cellular level. As reported in The New York Times, Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Elissa Epel, a research psychologist interested in chronic stress, studied telomere length in two groups of mothers. One group had normal, healthy children; the other group of mothers had a child with a chronic illness. Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Epel found significant differences between the groups, and found that the longer the mothers had been caring for their chronically ill child, the lower their telomerase levels and the shorter their telomeres.

Although genes play a role in telomerase production, stress is not genetically based. The chronic stress these mothers experienced came from outside the body and affected the body’s ability to repair itself. Increased stress levels, the scientists found, can measurably accelerate the aging process at the cellular level. The research team found similar effects among primary caregivers for partners with dementia. A 2012 study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston tracked telomere length in more than 5,000 women and confirmed similar findings.

Could meditation counter the effects of stress on telomere length? Dr. Blackburn, among others, has found evidence that meditation does appear to increase telomerase levels among practitioners. A recent study by Dean Ornish, M.D., founder and president of the Preventive Medical Research Institute and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes can have a positive effect on telomere length. His research was based on a host of lifestyle changes including meditation and showed that telomeres actually increased in length for those in the 5-year study who followed a lifestyle plan that included eating whole foods, exercising and meditating.

If you, like most people, have accepted the belief that age reversal can’t happen, it’s time to release that belief. Replace it with a belief based on new information – that it is possible to reverse the signs of aging and grow younger, and reducing stress is one of the most effective ways to do it.

I’m not saying that you can get rid of life’s challenges. Everybody has stress-inducing challenges – but we can practice ways to respond instead of reacting that will greatly reduce the effect of stress on our bodies. In a subsequent blog I’ll share some practices for reducing stress. In the meantime, change your belief about aging. When you allow the belief that you can rejuvenate your life, you’ve taken a significant step toward making it happen.

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