1/29-Can stress age us?

Thea Singer - Stress Less

Now, more than ever, people are living through some of the greatest stresses. As many as 8 out of 10 Americans are stressed out due to the economy. Out of that 80%, women tend to be more worried than men, in terms of their personal finances, work, housing costs, and job stability. So, what’s the long term affect?

Stress and aging—an anecdotally inexorable link. We’ve all seen friends become symbols of the phenomenon; indeed, we’re all running from the gray hair and sagging jowls, the papery skin and flabby bellies that would qualify us for the role ourselves. In STRESS LESS (for Women): Calm Your Body, Slow Aging, and Rejuvenate the Mind in 5 Simple Steps [Plume; January 2012; ISBN: 978-0-452-29765-4] we learn about the new studies that show that chronic stress may actually gnaw away at our DNA, speeding up the rate at which our cells age by a shocking 10 years or more. The find gave scientific credence to a truth those of us over 25 have known in our bones (and hearts and multiple other organs) for years.

The amount of stress people feel they are under, correlate with how close to the end their cells might be. That means that each of us holds the antidote — the ability to slow that unsightly ripening — in our own hands, or more precisely in our brains and bodies.

But wait, we protest. We’ve tried so hard to be good: We eat right to stay slim and exercise to keep our hearts and muscles strong. What gives?

The truth is, all along we may have been targeting the wrong villains, those we can see—calories, carbs, fat, couch-potato-ness-rather than one that gets under the skin (and radar); Stress.

In STRESS LESS (for Women), we are given the tools to start influencing where we stand on the aging spectrum. We learn how crucial having a sense of control is in reducing stress- and how crucial reducing stress is to slowing the aging process, all the way down to the DNA in our cells. Stress maybe the new biological clock-but we also hold within us the means to slow and even rewind its springs. We have the ability to change how we perceive the world.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thea Singer has written about health and science for more than three decades. A contributor to More, O, The Oprah Magazine, Natural Health, Boston, and The Nation, her byline has also appeared in newspapers such as The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The Boston Herald. She lives in Brookline, Massachusetts.

“A gem. Beautiful science and practical, helpful, lifechanging information.”

— Chistiane Northrup,M.D., New York Times bestselling author of

Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdon

STRESS LESS (for Women)

THEA SINGER

Plume ▪ On sale January 2012

$16.00 ▪ ISBN: 978-0-452-29765-4