Premature aging: stress at work and hormone balance
The Link between Workplace Stress, Aging, and Hormones
In the modern era, an increasing number of people report that their occupations are a primary source of stress in their lives. In recent years, this has reached an all-time high, exacerbated by concerns about the economy and the global climate. However, now more than ever, people are aware of their health, and that the demands of a modern workplace often have adverse long-term effects on the body.
The Hormonal Dynamics of Stress
Stress is both an emotional and somatic experience, meaning it is a biological and physiological process that occurs on a hormonal level within the body. However, the issue is that the body’s stress programs have long evolved to respond to all threats as if they were imminent danger. Therefore, prolonged states of heightened stress, such as a demanding job that typically involves no real danger, wreak havoc on the metabolic environment and destabilize the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis.
Because chronic stress has the long-term effect of impairing the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis, this has critical implications for the immune system functions and the body’s overall ability to heal and restore itself. Surges in stress hormones result in a reduced ability to sleep or have deep REM sleep, which is high-quality sleep required for proper cellular repair.
Additionally, stress activation also impairs gut motility and digestion, as the body slows down metabolic activities to prepare to fight or flee from this perceived “danger”. The body remaining in a state of “fight or flight” results in conditions like chronic sugar cravings and tissue inflammation as the body searches for quick calories in the form of glucose to meet its minimal digestive calorie requirements, rather than having to digest larger meals with fuller nutritional profiles, which require more resources to break down and properly absorb.
These factors often compound with the weakened immune response as mentioned before, lack of good digestion, sugar cravings to provide easy, simple calories, and lack of deep repair all create a perfect environment for wounds to heal slowly and illnesses, even as simple as a cold, to be more challenging to get over. Over time, the lack of repair also leads to the breakdown of the body’s largest organ, the skin, as repair is not occurring, and nutrition is limited.
Collagen begins to break down, resulting in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles typically associated with advanced age. In the case of chronic stress, visible skin aging tends to occur much earlier than the typical stage of life.
Critical Hormones Affected by Chronic Stress
Several critical players in metabolic health are affected by elevated stress, including cortisol, the “stress” hormone; both estrogen and testosterone; melatonin; and HGH, or human growth hormone.
These all affect the body in different ways, beginning with:
-
CORTISOL
Cortisol, most known as “the stress hormone,” and for its involved in weight struggles and premature aging. Sustaining high levels of cortisol over time creates a hormonal environment that makes it more challenging to lose fat, particularly visceral fat around the torso, as well as those early signs of aged skin.
-
ESTROGEN AND TESTOSTERONE –
In the case of estrogen and testosterone, which must remain in a delicate balance for optimal function, their production can be suppressed by chronic stress. Imbalances in androgenic hormones such as estrogen and testosterone, specifically if they are being underproduced, can often result in loss of muscle, emotional instability, and low libido.
-
MELATONIN –
Melatonin, a hormone that assists triggering sleep, a time when your body repairs, is also affected similarly, as prolonged stress reduces its production as well. Without adequate, deep, high-quality sleep, your body cannot complete critical repair processes, such as wound healing or skin repair. Lack of quality sleep or even low-level episodes of insomnia can contribute to the premature aging of the body over time.
-
HGH (Human Growth Hormone)
The production of HGH is notable because it plays a critical role in maintaining muscle, promoting alertness, facilitating skin regeneration, and regulating the body’s metabolism of fat. Since stress also impairs HGH production, thereby interfering with the HGH cycle, the aging effects that prolonged episodes of stress have on the body as a functional whole increase.
SUPPORT FOR METABOLIC DISTRESS
Therapies are available for hormone imbalances such as these, HGH included. In the case of hormone therapy for HGH specifically, we observe a boost in repair, increased alertness, improved mood, and enhanced muscle health under medical supervision.
While the demands of the working world can wear you down physically, there are options widely available to assist you in managing stress, improving sleep, and in some instances, it is appropriate to seek hormone therapy to regain hormonal balance if the system has been overwhelmed for too long. Consulting with a provider about therapy options may be beneficial if other interventions do not yield the desired results or in cases of acute health needs. It is essential to have your hormone levels tested and consult with a medical professional before pursuing hormonal therapies.
