You finally made it: You got the promotion, received the contract, and broke the glass ceiling. It’s not easy, especially for a woman, to be a respected leader in your field and to constantly put in the hours to prove you’re worthy of the position you earned. However, keeping up with a demanding and fast-paced career does take a toll on your health, which is why it’s important to keep your physical and emotional stress in check. If you don’t, stress can make you look older, inside and out. Here’s how:
#1 It gives you premature wrinkles
When we’re stressed, we release chemicals that include adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol. Adrenaline and norepinephrine are your fight or flight hormones that are released when you’re under extreme stress. The stress hormone, cortisol, is also released into your bloodstream, but too much of it can cause you to lose collagen (the protein that keeps your skin supple and firm), making your skin’s structure suffer and form wrinkles and fine lines.
#2 It promotes hair loss
“Telogen effluvium” may sound like a magical spell, but it’s actually the term for hair loss caused by stress. Stress disrupts the natural growth cycle of hair follicles, leading to hair fall. Other types of hair loss possibly due to stress include alopecia areata (in which your body attacks your hair follicles and causes your hair to fall) and trichotillomania (in which you develop the compulsion to pull your hair as a way of calming yourself).
#3 It gives you dark circles and eyebags
Lack of rest and sleep can cause the blood vessels around the eyes to expand, causing dark discoloration “smudges” to form, which look similar to eyeliner smudged with makeup remover. But it doesn’t stop there. Dark circles are further aggravated by a fluid imbalance caused by the lack of sleep. The circles under your eyes swell up, giving you eyebags.
#4 It adversely affects your DNA
The ends of our DNA strand are protected by telomeres. A study has found that people who experience work-related stress have shorter telomeres than those who experience little to no work-related stress. When telomeres are shortened, our cells age. In addition, people with short telomeres have a higher risks of Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, and diabetes.
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