Yes, stress ages you…even if you’re young.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that high stress can make young adults look and feel older…but only on days when they also felt less in control of their lives.
“The key finding was that on days when study participants reported experiencing higher levels of stress than they normally did, they also reported looking and feeling older,” said study author and professor, Shevaun Neupert. “However, this was only true on days when study participants also reported feeling that they had less control over their lives than they normally did. It’s also worth noting that both the levels of stress and the levels of control were relative.”
Basically, being very stressed and feeling like you have no control over it wreaks havoc on your body – whether you’re old or young.