How simply relaxing can reduce ageing in just a few days, new study shows 

If you feel like life’s stresses and strains are aging you prematurely, there’s a simple answer: Worry no more!

Because a study shows that for those looking to turn back time, becoming less stressed can reduce your biological age in just a few days.

While chronological age is the number of years you live, biological age refers to how old your cells and tissues are, based on their current state.

If you are particularly healthy and fit, your biological age may be lower than your actual age.

But if you’re particularly sedentary, chronically ill, or in poor physical condition, your biological age may be higher, meaning you’re at greater risk of illness and living a shorter life.

It has already been proven that our biological age increases rapidly in response to stress.

But new research indicates that this can be reversed in just a few days or months when you feel more relaxed.

Professor Vadim Gladyshev, from Harvard Medical School, said: ‘Despite the recognition that biological age is at least somewhat malleable, the extent to which it undergoes reversible changes throughout life and the events that trigger such changes remain unknown.’

His team, along with scientists from Duke University, measured changes in biological age in humans and mice in response to various stressful situations.

Real-life scenarios that can cause this kind of stress include major surgery, pregnancy, or serious illness.

While biological age rose relatively quickly in response to stress, it dropped back to baseline after recovery from the event.

In the journal Cell Metabolism, the researchers write: “Our data has revealed the dynamic nature of biological age – stress can cause a rapid increase in biological age, which can be reversed.”