The Mind-Body Connection

Mental or emotional stress can no longer be considered “in the mind”, that is, as existing separately from the body. This is not New Age nonsense or psychobabble. Stress manifests in myriad ways in the body, clearly delineating the very real connection between mind and body. In fact, it would not be a stretch to say that it is unclear where the mind ends and the body begins, as they are intrinsically linked for both good and ill. Putting it simply, stress affects our skin and total body.

As this ‘mind – body’ connection has become more and more accepted, an entirely new field of medicine has emerged, known as psychoneuroimmunology. In true holistic fashion, this exciting new field brings together knowledge from multiple fields of study in endocrinology, immunology, psychology, neurology and other fields.

Our Lifespan–The Long and Short of it

A recent study at the University of California has not only implicated stress in cell aging— it also suggests that stress accelerates the rate at which the cell ages. We have long known that stress has precipitated premature aging, but the exact mechanism of how this occurs has been unclear.

According to the researchers, stress affects telomeres, strips of DNA at the end of chromosomes which appear to protect and stabilize the chromosome ends. A chromosome is a type of cell that carries hereditary information.

These key pieces of DNA are involved in regulating cell division. Each time the cell divides, the telomere shortens, until eventually there is nothing left, making cell division less reliable and increasing the risk of age-related disorders.

Researchers examined 58 pre-menopausal women. Nineteen had healthy children and the rest had children with chronic illnesses.

Scientists took blood samples to carry out DNA analysis of telomeres. They also measured levels of an enzyme called telomerase, which helps build and maintain telomeres in immune cells.

Stressed Mothers measured as Ten Years Older

Being a caregiver is a highly stressful situation and it was not surprising when the researchers discovered that women who had reported higher levels of psychological stress – those who were caring for sick children – had shorter telomeres. In fact, the difference was equivalent to more than a decade of additional aging when compared with the women who had lower stress levels.

The high stress group also had lower levels of telomerase in their immune cells. According to Dr. Elissa Epel, leader of the research team, this finding implied that the immune cells would not function as well and could die sooner.

It was also found that the high-stress women had greater levels of oxidative stress – cumulative damage caused by the molecules known as free radicals.

Laboratory studies have shown that oxidative stress speeds up the shortening of the telomeres.

Tomorrow we will learn what mechanism is believed responsible for this and potential ways to short circuit it.