10 Things Stress Does to Your Body After 50

The grinding can cause jaw soreness, sensitive teeth and clicking in your jaw. “A custom night guard can reduce damage from clenching and grinding,” says Sokolina. “It protects the teeth but doesn’t eliminate the underlying cause of stress.” 

4. It can affect your brain health

Short bursts of stress can sharpen focus and boost attention and memory, helping us solve problems in the moment. If you’ve felt a sudden clarity on how to work through a problem with a deadline hanging over your head, you’ve experienced this phenomenon. “The body is able to handle acute stress very well,” says Yuko Hara, director of Aging and Alzheimer’s Prevention at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. But when stress becomes chronic, elevated cortisol levels, neuroinflammation and disruptions in communication between brain cells can take a greater toll on the brain, she says.

High levels of stress hormones can interfere with the brain’s ability to remember things, concentrate and make decisions, leading to brain fog. 

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“Chronic stress can also influence parts of the brain that are responsible for how we learn, as well as for emotionally regulating our feelings,” says Dr. Amy Fitzpatrick, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and chief medical officer at Bedrock Recovery Center. Over time, these changes can make it more difficult to process information, stay focused and regulate emotions.

Chronic stress has also been linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline. A 2021 meta-analysis of 16 observational studies found that higher perceived stress was linked to a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment as well as all-cause dementia. While this doesn’t mean that stress is a direct cause of dementia, researchers believe chronic stress may be one of several factors that contribute to cognitive decline.

5. It can throw off your sleep

Poor sleep has been linked to everything from an increased risk of heart disease to dementia, diabetes, weight gain and high blood pressure. And stress plays a major role in disrupting your slumber. A 2022 analysis published in Research in Nursing and Health found that adults age 55 and older who experienced frequent chronic stress had 91 percent higher odds of difficulty falling asleep than those with lower stress levels.

“I tell my patients that insomnia isn’t usually because their body forgot how to sleep; it’s because their brain forgot how to relax,” says Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and clinical sleep specialist in Manhattan Beach, California. Stress, he says, doesn’t just keep you awake; it keeps your brain revved up. The hormones your body releases when stressed, such as cortisol and adrenaline, are designed to put your body into high alert, not to wind down to fall asleep.

“At the same time, your mind starts to replay conversations, worry about tomorrow or make endless to-do lists,” says Breus. When this occurs, your body enters a state of hyperarousal where you feel physically tired, but your brain refuses to power down. 

Aside from trouble falling asleep, chronic stress can also lead to fragmented sleep and nighttime waking, making sleep feel less restorative. “Even worse, poor sleep makes you more sensitive to stress the next day, creating a vicious cycle,” says Breus. 

6. It can interfere with your digestion

If you’ve ever been under pressure and had some tummy troubles after eating a meal, it very well could be due to stress. “Digestion is a nice activity for a low-stress period,” says J. David Creswell, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. But research suggests that stress can impair this process. “After all, if you’re running from a lion, the last thing you want to be doing is really focusing on having a beautiful digestive response to your last meal,” Creswell says. 

Some studies suggest this may be due to stress’s ability to alter the gut microbiome, slow digestive responses and increase intestinal permeability. This may cause some people to experience digestive symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, acid reflux, diarrhea or constipation. “The gastrointestinal system is sensitive to stress, and it may not function as well,” says Spiegel. 

7. It can make you look and feel older

“Stress hormones like cortisol directly impair the skin’s barrier function,” says Dr. Debra Jaliman, a board-certified dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. When the skin barrier is weakened, it becomes more susceptible to irritation, dryness and inflammation. Jaliman says stress hormones can also worsen skin conditions like psoriasis, eczema, acne and hives, while accelerating visible signs of skin aging, including fine lines and wrinkles and slowing wound healing.

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The aging effects of chronic stress may also extend beyond the skin. Some research suggests it may accelerate biological aging by shortening telomeres, the protective caps at the end of our chromosomes that help protect DNA as cells divide. Telomeres naturally shorten as we get older, but emerging research suggests chronic stress may accelerate this process. 

8. It can increase body fat

Stress can influence metabolism in several ways, and not just because of cortisol. “When people are under chronic stress, they often sleep less, exercise less and may reach for foods that are high in sugar or fat,” says Dr. Maria Fleseriu, a professor of medicine and neurological surgery and director of the Pituitary Center at Oregon Health & Science University. These changes can contribute to weight gain and raise the risk of metabolic conditions.

There are also biological effects. “Chronic activation of the body’s stress response can influence where fat is stored, and visceral fat, the fat around our abdominal organs, appears to be especially sensitive,” Fleseriu says. Visceral fat doesn’t just add extra pounds. It’s metabolically active fat that releases substances that can promote inflammation throughout the body. Over time, this can increase your risk of metabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass, gain more visceral fat and become less efficient at regulating blood sugar, says Fleseriu. While stress alone doesn’t cause diabetes, it can contribute to insulin resistance. This may be because cortisol increases glucose production by the liver and temporarily makes the body’s tissues less responsive to insulin. This is helpful in the short term, says Fleseriu, because it provides extra fuel when it’s needed. But if this begins to happen repeatedly over months or years, especially alongside poor sleep, weight gain and reduced physical activity, the body can become progressively more insulin resistant and increase risk of type 2 diabetes.

9. It can weaken your immune system

Your immune system is a network of cells, tissues and organs designed to protect you from infections and help your body heal. But chronic stress can interfere with those defenses. 

In these situations, the body is so focused on managing stress that it has less ability to attend to day-to-day repair and maintenance, says Lin. “That’s when the immune system becomes a little bit weakened,” she explains. 

For instance, people who experience higher levels of chronic stress are more likely to develop a cold after being exposed to a virus, Creswell says. He highlights a landmark study in which researchers examined people’s self-reported stress levels and then exposed them to a rhinovirus. “If you’ve had stress in the months leading up to this, you’re much more likely to actually have a clinical cold when you’re exposed to the virus,” says Creswell.

Chronic stress may also slow healing and worsen inflammation, which may contribute to flare-ups of some chronic conditions. People often wonder whether stress can cause cancer, and the latest research suggests there’s no clear evidence that it does. But experts suggest that stress may indirectly influence risk by disrupting sleep, recovery and other healthy behaviors over time. “Sleep deprivation, poor sleep, has been associated with increased risk of breast cancer in women,” says Lin.

10. It can take a toll on your mental health

Ongoing stress can increase the risk of anxiety and depression. It can also make it harder to regulate emotions. “Chronic stress is one of the most common triggers we see for anxiety and depression, especially in older adults juggling health changes, caregiving or loss,” says Toyin Awe, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Lyte Psychiatry with practices in Texas and New Mexico.

Some people may experience these effects without realizing what’s really going on. “In my clinical experience, I see stress manifest as mental health disorders including anxiety, depression and the inability to manage emotions,” says Eileen Borski, a Conroe, Texas-based professional counselor specializing in anxiety, trauma and stress. Many clients simply describe themselves as “stressed out” without realizing they may be experiencing anxiety or depression, she says.

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Steps to Take to Reduce Your Stress

Stress is an inevitable part of life and cannot be completely avoided. So trying to eliminate it altogether isn’t realistic. The goal is to find simple ways to cope with stress as it occurs. And this doesn’t have to require hours of meditation or a major lifestyle overhaul. Small shifts in your thoughts and actions that take minutes rather than hours can go a long way, says Epel. Try these steps to tackle your own stress. 

• Figure out what is causing your stress. “If you know what’s causing you stress, you want to reduce that stressor by removing it, getting rid of it, walking away from it or mitigating it in some way,” says Lin. If you’re feeling stressed around a certain boss, colleague, neighbor or even a recurring obligation, identifying the source can help you set healthy boundaries or find ways to reduce its impact. 
• Take a belly breath: A large chest breath is often not enough. “You want to actually relax your abdomen and inhale deeply and breathe into the belly,” says Lin. This type of breathing helps to activate the vagus nerve, which can help slow your heart rate, lower your blood pressure and reset your nervous system, she explains. “That can work very quickly.”
• Don’t obsess about wearables: Your Apple Watch or Oura Ring can provide some helpful insights into things like your sleep and activity. But seeing that you had a stressful day and then obsessing about your markers can cause you even more stress. Instead, Lin says to use your wearables to identify patterns behind your stressful periods. Then, see if you can use that information to make some lifestyle changes that may help. 
• Use a “stress shield” phrase: To manage in-the-moment stress, Epel suggests having a short phrase ready that keeps your response from spiraling into something bigger than it needs to be. Try something like: “I am doing the best I can,” “I will get through this difficult time” or “I am right where I need to be.”
• Rein in your rumination: You have a fight with your sibling and call a friend to talk through it. That may help you feel better. But the more people you replay the conversation with, the more you are reliving the incident. “When we think about something that’s stressful, our body does not know the difference between something we’re thinking of, something we’re remembering or something that’s happening right now,” Lin says. If you find yourself reliving an event and feeling your heart race or your muscles tense, try redirecting your attention to something more calming. Or try to identify what’s causing your stress and change the way you think about it. (For tips on how to do this, see “25 Ways to Avoid Overthinking.”)
• Spend time with a pet: Interacting with an animal can lower stress and loneliness, says Hara. Even if you can’t have a pet, just going to a shelter and petting some cats or dogs, or stopping to say hello to pets in the neighborhood, can be enough, she says. And the benefits extend to other pets as well. Hara highlights a study in which older adults cared for crickets for eight weeks and still showed improvements in cognition and mood compared with a control group, and she says even a pet fish can help.
• Get social: Spending time with others is linked to stress reduction, but today’s automated lifestyle — self-checkout, and delivery apps —are making social interactions less necessary than ever. Getting out of your house for pickleball matches or lunch with friends can go a long way. Even small interactions like choosing the cashier over self-checkout or saying hi to a neighbor on a walk can help, says Spiegel. 
• Stop stressing about stress: It’s not about trying to remove stress from your life; it’s about trying to work on your reactions to it. “There is stress in our life,” says Lin. “So the best way to think about it is to learn different ways to cope and manage it better.
  
  Want to learn more quick ways to relieve stress? Read “5 Things You Can Do to Relieve Stress in 5 Minutes.”