3 days agoAuthor: Gaurav Tiwari
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It is painful when someone close to you leaves this world. If he is your dear one, then his death creates a void in your life. A void that no one else can fill. Every corner of the house, every thing that has memories of that person attached to it, keeps causing pain. No balm works on it. All this makes a person unconscious and helpless, which directly affects his health.
According to a study published recently in the medical journal JAMA Network Open, the death of a loved one makes a person age faster. Here, loved ones mean parents, partners or children.
Science may be saying this today, but we have all seen this happening around us many times. In my own memories, after the death of my uncle, my grandfather suddenly started becoming weak. He started needing support to walk. His eyesight and hearing ability started deteriorating. He started aging rapidly.
Studies have found that due to the grief of the death of a close one, our cells, tissues and body organs start aging rapidly. Their functioning starts declining. Diseases of old age start surrounding us in adulthood itself.
Today ‘health report‘ We will know what effect the death of a close one has on health. Also, we will know that-
- What does it mean to grow old before your age?
- How can I avoid this?
Stress increases due to the departure of a close person
According to the American organization ‘Mental Health America’, the grief and sadness caused by the death of a close one makes our mind very restless. This creates a feeling of helplessness and worthlessness. This situation causes stress and depression, which can lead to many types of mental health problems. This also has a bad effect on physical health.
Stress makes us age faster
According to Tunc Tiryaki, founder of the London-based Regenerative Institute, stress is like a huge glacier of diseases. When we are surrounded by stress, the body becomes restless. As a result, a cascade of reactions starts coming out of our body, due to which we start aging faster.

Every relationship has a different impact
The study published in JAMA Network also found that the death of a close relative has different effects on different relationships. The death of a son makes his parents age faster. The death of a life partner makes him age faster due to loneliness and stress. However, the greatest impact is on young children whose parents or siblings die. See graphic.

Reducing stress can lead to improvement
According to Tunk Tiryaki, stress attacks the smallest unit of our body. It directly starts weakening the cells. That is why stress causes so much damage to our body.
However, Tiryaki has a solution for this. He writes that if stress is the biggest reason for the rapid aging of our body, then removing it can bring the situation back to normal.

What to do to reduce stress
First of all, we must understand that stress is not a mental health condition like anxiety and depression. Therefore, it can be cured by making some necessary changes in the lifestyle without resorting to medicines. See in the graphic what necessary changes we can make in our lives to reduce stress.

Let us understand some of the points given in the graphic in detail.
Regular exercise and yoga reduces stress
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, keeping your body constantly active reduces stress and keeps the mood good. Regular exercise improves symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. If you are not doing any kind of physical activity right now, then start with light exercises like walking or cycling.
Similarly, doing yoga regularly also reduces the level of stress. This also improves our physical health.
Reduce screen time, get enough sleep
Spending more time in front of the phone or laptop increases stress. First of all, reduce your screen time. Apart from this, reduce the consumption of caffeine i.e. coffee. This is also responsible for increasing the level of stress.
Both these habits disturb our sleep. Lack of sleep also increases stress. Therefore, along with reducing these two habits, it is also important to get enough sleep.
Never resort to alcohol or cigarettes to relieve stress. They may provide immediate relief, but in the long run they have serious consequences. They do not reduce stress either.
A balanced diet is essential
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2012, our food directly affects our physical and mental health. The study found that people who eat ultra-processed food and a diet rich in sugar are more likely to experience increased stress. Whereas eating a balanced diet helps reduce stress levels. For this, include the following things in your diet.
- All kinds of vegetables
- Seasonal fruits of all colors
- Beans
- Seeds
- Milk and other milk products
Spend time with family and friends
According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2019, friends, family and social support can help us deal with stress. The study observed that when young adults were left alone, their stress levels increased. Whereas people living with their families were happier and stress-free.
Give time to your creativity
Listening to or playing music is the best stress buster. It reduces tension of the brain as well as muscles.
If you are not interested in music, you can enjoy any other hobby of your choice. It is possible that someone may be fond of gardening, sewing or sketching. Overall, anything can be tried which can divert our attention from stress and focus on the work of our mind.