These 5 Surprising Factors Are Secretly Aging You Faster

Fact checked by Khara ScheppmannFact checked by Khara Scheppmann

Key Takeaways

• Maintaining an active social life can help you live longer and lower your risk of premature death.

• Sunscreen is crucial, but sunglasses can protect your eyes and the surrounding skin that may not be covered by sunscreen.

• Long hours of TV binging are associated with a reduced chance of healthy aging.

Cigarettes, alcohol, and lack of sleep can make you look and feel older. However, some lesser-known lifestyle factors can accelerate the aging process.

Even if you can't reverse all of the cellular and molecular changes that happen throughout life, you could slow down the rate of biological aging by making some lifestyle changes, said Thomas Buford, PhD, a professor of gerontology, geriatrics, and palliative care at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“It is never too late to improve your health as you get older,” Buford said.

Here are five surprising factors that may make you age faster—and what you can do about them.

Social Isolation

A recent report found that nearly a quarter of all adults aged 65 and above are socially isolated. Loneliness and social isolation can raise the risk of dementia, heart disease, stroke, and depression.

“People are often surprised by how a lack of social connections can significantly increase a person's risk of premature death,” Sara B. Leonard, MD, FAAFP, a geriatrician and clinical faculty member at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told Verywell in an email.

Having an active social life and maintaining a sense of purpose helps older adults stay healthy and live longer. Volunteering, playing pickleball, joining a book club, or taking classes at a local library are good ways to stay productive.

"It's important to be mindful that healthy relationships and a strong social support network are important throughout our lives—but especially as we age," Leonard said.

Related: Why Having Friends of All Ages Is Good for Your Health

Not Wearing Sunglasses

If you put on sunscreen when you go outside, it's already helping to prevent your skin from photoaging. But did you forget about your sunglasses?

"For those of us who don't wear big sunglasses, or aren't in the habit of using the sunscreen up to the lash line, that's where we can get sun damage and loss of elasticity," Ivy Lee, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in Los Angeles, CA., told Verywell.

Sun damage and skin cancers are common on the thin skin of the lower eyelids. Wearing sunglasses not only protects your eyes and surrounding skin from harmful UV rays, but also keeps you from squinting. People with a habit of squinting or repeated movement with their eyelids are more prone to developing wrinkles, Lee said.

Sedentary Lifestyle

Binging your favorite Netflix show won't keep you young. A recent study associated long hours of television with reduced odds of healthy aging, but replacing that habit with moderate or light physical activities could improve the odds of healthy aging.

Prioritizing movement is key for healthy aging. This doesn't mean you have to train for a marathon or sign up for an expensive personal training program. Any amount of physical activity will have benefits, and it's best to focus on the exercises that you enjoy, Buford said.

"Start with what you're able to do with where you are today, and have the objective and goal to increase either the intensity or the frequency over time, as you are able to," Buford added.

Don't overlook resistance training, which can help rejuvenate aging skin, support mobility, and maintain muscle mass as you age. Walking up the stairs or practicing tai chi daily can help strengthen your muscles.

"Cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and bone health all have to work together in terms of preventing falls and preventing frailty," Buford said.

Chronic Stress

Physical, mental, and emotional stressors, including finances, work, discrimination, and caregiving, can accelerate aging.

"We have some people who are 65 taking care of their parents and their grandchildren. A lot of times these social caretaking stressors can also advance the biological aging process to some degree," Buford said.

Chronic stress can take a toll on the body and cause inflammation, which may speed up biological aging. Leonard added that chronic stress can affect a part of the DNA called telomeres, which sets the aging process in motion and increases the risks of health problems.

While it may be challenging to resolve chronic stressors, especially with limited resources, you can try to focus on what you can change. Sleeping at least seven hours each night, meditating, limiting alcohol consumption, moving your body, and connecting with people you trust can help manage stress.

Too Much Sugar and Ultra-Processed Foods

The foods you eat influence the way you look and feel. Some studies have linked diets high in ultra-processed foods and added sugars with faster biological aging.

"More research is needed to answer this question, but right now it is thought that higher sugar intake has an effect on methyl groups on the surface of our DNA that may speed up cellular aging,"Jen Bruning, MS, RDN, LDN, a Chicago-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, told Verywell in an email.

These diets can harm mental and heart health, which reduces a person's health span. Limiting these foods and eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein sources can support healthy aging.

"Nutrition can play a supportive role in protecting you from premature aging, but it’s not realistic to expect that diet alone can undo the damage from other lifestyle factors like smoking, drinking heavily, or living with chronically high stress," Bruning said. "Look at your whole lifestyle, and make small, sustainable changes one at a time until they are habits."

What This Means For You

Taking simple steps like staying socially active and wearing sunglasses can help slow down the aging process and improve your overall well-being.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.