{"id":1713170,"date":"2022-10-27T07:54:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T11:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1713170"},"modified":"2022-10-27T10:52:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T14:52:27","slug":"this-is-the-top-cause-of-accelerated-aging-and-how-to-beat-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-the-top-cause-of-accelerated-aging-and-how-to-beat-it\/","title":{"rendered":"This Is the Top Cause of Accelerated Aging \u2013 And How to Beat It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthis-is-the-top-cause-of-accelerated-aging-and-how-to-beat-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1713170&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><span>What is the top cause of accelerated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-aging\">aging<\/a>? Bad habits such as smoking and excessive drinking are often the first thing that comes to mind. However,\u00a0perhaps surprisingly, scientists have recently found that the leading culprit behind aging is a poor psychological state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>A Prime Culprit of Aging: Negative Psychological State<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>A joint experiment conducted by American and Hong Kong researchers has examined the effects of various factors on people\u2019s biological age with data from 11,914 adults in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database. The data include participants\u2019 blood tests, living conditions, psychological status, disease history, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aging-us.com\/article\/204264\/text\">Researchers found<\/a> that the mean effect of stroke, liver disease, and lung disease on biological aging doesn\u2019t exceed 1.5 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>They also tested healthy people and found that for people without any diseases, the primary cause of aging is the state of their mind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Having a poor psychological state adds up to 1.65 years to a person\u2019s biological age. The second factor is smoking, a bad habit that affects life expectancy, accelerating aging by 1.25 years.\u00a0Other factors that contribute to accelerated aging include being male, living in rural areas, being single, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/26\/1-2-1200x720.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-4820903\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1152\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4820903\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1152\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><span>Suffering from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-depression\">depression<\/a> or anxiety may also increase a person\u2019s biological age and accelerate aging. Of all the negative psychological states, feeling unhappy increases aging by 0.35 years, while restless sleep increases aging by 0.44 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/26\/2-2-1200x742.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-4820909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1188\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4820909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1188\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cMental and psychosocial states are some of the most robust predictors of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-health\">health<\/a> outcomes\u2014and quality of life\u2014yet they have largely been omitted from modern health care,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2022-09-lonely-unhappy-aging.html\">said co-author Manuel Faria of Stanford University.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Older Biological Age: Faster Aging, More Prone to Disease\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>There is a difference between a person\u2019s biological age and chronological age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aging-us.com\/article\/204264\/text\">a 2022 study<\/a>, the researchers developed a statistical model to calculate biological age and gave it a figurative name: the aging clock. A person\u2019s biological age can be obtained with the aging clock by an input of the person\u2019s blood biochemical indicators, blood pressure, heart rate, marital status, living area, lifestyle, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If a person\u2019s biological age is lower than their chronological age, they would be aging slowly. On the other hand, if his biological age is higher than the chronological age, he is aging fast. Increased biological age is also associated with higher all-cause mortality and infection rates, as well as some diseases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In addition to psychological factors such as stress, loneliness, mental health, and negative perceptions of aging, there are <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/29609076\/\">several psychosocial factors<\/a> that accelerate aging, including negative fateful life events and modern lifestyle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There are some causes behind negative psychological states that accelerate the aging process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Why can negative psychological states affect a person\u2019s biological age so prominently? When assorted negative feelings accumulate, the human body will undergo <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/28085494\/\">a series of subtle reactions,\u00a0<\/a>and many physiological indicators will also change accordingly. The body secretes stress hormones and other chemicals, and oxidative damage increases. Aging-related genes are therefore stimulated, creating instability in the body\u2019s life rhythm.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Under stress, the body produces large amounts of glucocorticoids, which impair almost all body tissues and accelerate the aging process. <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/19523511\/\">Glucocorticoids<\/a> are associated with memory and cognition, causing epigenetic changes in DNA and affecting DNA methylation associated with aging, which can contribute to arteriosclerosis and other health problems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8087445\/\">Animal studies<\/a> have shown that competition-induced social stress can cause accelerated aging. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4699359\/\">Some researchers<\/a> have calculated that accumulated stress across the course of life leads to an increase in biological age by 3.6 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Moreover, stress may exacerbate oxidative damage and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC534658\/\">shorten DNA telomeres<\/a> in the human body. Both of which contribute to aging and increase biological age by 10 years. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5566406\/\">Studies of childhood trauma<\/a> and post-traumatic stress disorder also suggest that this stress-induced accelerated aging may persist for years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There are also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8627511\/\">studies<\/a> showing that cumulative stress results in insulin resistance in the human body. Insulin resistance will lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/30166499\/\">chronic inflammation<\/a> and oxidative stress, which are key mechanisms of biological aging. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4550423\/\">Leukocyte telomere<\/a> length (LTL) is inversely associated with insulin resistance. As insulin resistance increases, LTL decreases and cellular senescence increases.<\/span><span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Among the blood biomarkers inputted into the aging clock, the increase of a crucial marker\u2014cystatin C\u2014indicates the decline of renal function. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0009912018310701?via%3Dihub\">Decreased renal function<\/a> is a major risk factor for increased all-cause mortality in the general population. Furthermore, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0165178118312642?via%3Dihub\">abnormal cystatin C levels<\/a> may be associated with new-onset depressive symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The Swift Rise of Unhappiness in Recent Years<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>The sad thing is that on a whole, our psychological state is increasingly worse: We feel unhappier and lonelier.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>According to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/opinion\/gallup\/401216\/global-rise-unhappiness.aspx\">Gallup<\/a>, the unhappiness of the global population has been rising over the past 15 years and is now at a record high. People feel more anger, sadness, pain, worry, and stress than ever before. If the negative experience index ranges from 0 to 100, people\u2019s unhappiness has risen from 24 in 2006 to 33 in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/26\/3-2-1200x675.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-4820914\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/3-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1081\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4820914\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/3-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1081\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><span>In over 5 million interviews on happiness conducted by Gallup, statistically representative of 98 percent of the world\u2019s population, interviewees were asked to describe their lives on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 represents the worst possible life and 10 represents the best possible life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When the survey began in 2006, 3.4 percent of respondents said their lives were a 10, and only 1.6 percent said their lives were a 0. In 2021, after 15 years of tracking, those numbers of people on either end escalated significantly. Among them, those who rated their lives the best accounted for 7.4 percent, an increase of 1.1 times, while those who rated their lives the worst reached 7.6 percent, an increase of 3.75 times.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Loneliness has increased substantially since the outbreak of COVID-19.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/mcc.gse.harvard.edu\/reports\/loneliness-in-america\">An online survey<\/a> of 950 Americans conducted by Harvard University in October 2020 showed that 36 percent of all Americans\u2014including 61 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 and 51 percent of mothers with young children\u2014feel serious loneliness. The report also revealed the dire costs of loneliness, including premature mortality and a wide array of severe physical and emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety, heart disease, substance abuse, and domestic abuse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>A Way to Change the Psychological State and Reduce Biological Age<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span>How can we change our mental state and reduce unhappiness? Numerous studies have found that apart from improving diet, being close to nature, and exercising regularly, maintaining compassion for oneself and others can also lead to a positive psychological state and delay aging.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12671-021-01822-2\">Compassion<\/a> is defined by scholars as the sensitivity to suffering in others with a commitment to help alleviate it. In contrast to empathy, compassion is not simply the ability to recognize and experience the psychological states of others, it also requires motivation followed by action. Not only that, it encompasses being self-compassionate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/10\/26\/4-2-1200x786.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy alignnone size-full wp-image-4820916\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1259\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4820916\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1259\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><span>Compassion improves mental and physical well-being in various aspects, which can be manifested in reduced loneliness, enhanced happiness, decreased cardiovascular risk and inflammation, and improved diabetes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC8287292\/\">study<\/a> published in Transitional Psychiatry conducted a 10-year follow up of 1,090 American adults. Researchers examined the physical and mental effects of compassion toward self (CTS) and compassion toward others (CTO) by making phone calls and filling out forms. The results showed that an individual who consistently had higher levels of CTS and CTO was less lonely years after.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If an individual starts out with low levels of CTS and CTO but changes afterward, his mental well-being will also improve accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The positive effects of compassion on health are greater than the adverse effects of smoking and drinking. This echoes the finding at the outset of the article that poor mental states accelerate aging more than smoking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This is because compassion and good deeds can enhance the connection with others without making them feel threatened. People are likely to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7347442\/\">reciprocate<\/a> with more responses and warm returns. Moreover, CTS and CTO are reflective of empathic abilities\u2014understanding the emotions and perspectives of others\u2014which reinforces more valuable social relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the post-pandemic era, people experienced increased depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as a decreased sense of social security.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A <a href=\"https:\/\/jcompassionatehc.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s40639-017-0033-3\">study<\/a> involving adults from 21 countries and regions in the context of COVID-19\u00a0<\/span><span>pandemic also demonstrates the general protective effect of compassion on people. The compassion refers to CTS, CTO, and compassion from others, that is\u2014three directional flows of compassion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The results show that, with more compassion to self and others, an individual has less psychological distress and a higher sense of social security. An individual can be less depressed if he is being compassionate to others. Reduced depression, anxiety, and stress come along if an individual is self-compassionate. Compassion from others may alleviate the fear of looming health risks such as that of the pandemic onset, and increase the sense of social security.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, <em>actions<\/em> that express compassion and kindness are more beneficial than merely holding thoughts of compassion or empathy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Also, studies have shown that individuals who meditate with love and compassion for others have <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/23602876\/\">longer DNA telomeres<\/a>\u00a0and are less likely to age.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-flora-zhao\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/default-user.png\" alt=\"Flora Zhao\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Flora Zhao is a health reporter for The Epoch Times. Have a tip? Email her at: flora.zhao@epochtimes.nyc<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-health\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/default-user.png\" alt=\"Health 1+1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Health 1+1 is the most authoritative Chinese medical and health information platform overseas. Every Tuesday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. EST on TV and online, the program covers the latest on the coronavirus, prevention, treatment, scientific research and policy, as well as cancer, chronic illness, emotional and spiritual health, immunity, health insurance, and other aspects to provide people with reliable and considerate care and help.<br \/>\nOnline: EpochTimes.com\/Health<br \/>\nTV: NTDTV.com\/live<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the top cause of accelerated aging? Bad habits such as smoking and excessive drinking are often the first thing that comes to mind. However,\u00a0perhaps surprisingly, scientists have recently<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1713173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1713170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1713170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1713170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1713170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1713173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1713170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1713170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1713170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}