shorten your life?
Have you ever looked at side-by-side
photos of a person before and after a
particularly trying time in his or her life,
for instance, before and a few years after
starting a highly demanding job? The
person likely appears much older in the
later photo. The stress of the job is thought
to contribute to the prematurely aged
appearance. You might feel stress from
work or other aspects of your daily life,
too. Stress is everywhere. Even when you
feel relaxed, your body is still experiencing
considerable stress—biological stress.
And, it is this type of stress that is widely
studied by gerontologists for its effects on
aging and longevity.
Biological stress begins with the very basic
processes in the body that produce and use energy.
We eat foods and we breathe, and our body uses
those two vital elements (glucose from food and
oxygen from the air) to produce energy, in a process
known as metabolism. You may already think
of metabolism as it pertains to eating—“My
metabolism is fast, so I can eat dessert," or “My
metabolism has slowed down over the years,
so I’m gaining weight.” Since metabolism is all
about energy, it also encompasses breathing,
circulating blood, eliminating waste, controlling
body temperature, contracting muscles, oper-
ating the brain and nerves, and just about every
other activity associated with living.
BIOLOGY OF AGING: RESEARCH TODAY FOR A HEALTHIER TOMORROW 23
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