Bob, Memphis

Researchers in a new study from the University of California at San Francisco confirmed what many have suspected all along: stress really does age you.

It appears that we can trace how stress impacts us biologically by checking our "telomeres" (pronounced teal-o-meers), which are the tiny caps on our cells' chromosomes that control cell regeneration.

Essentially what happens is that constant stress causes the telomeres in our bodies to get smaller. When a cell's telomere gets too short, the cell stops dividing and eventually dies. "These telomeres are one of the few biological markers of aging we have," says Judy Moskowitz, Ph.D., a psychologist at University of California at San Francisco.

By studying women with chronically ill children (certainly a stressful life) and women the same age who weren't caregivers, researchers discovered that the telomeres of women with chronically ill children were much shorter than those of the other women. Moreover, the greater the women perceived their stress levels, the shorter their telomeres - and the "older" their cells.

The study also showed that stress didn't age the women who didn't perceive their lives as stressful nearly as much. "For them, stress is like water off a duck's back," says Thomas Perls, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at Boston University who is also the director of the New England Centenarian Project, a nationwide study of 1,500 people over the age of 100 and their children.

"It isn't the amount of stress that matters but how you manage it," adds Perls.

In fact, a number of the centenarians Perls has studied have endured plenty of stress. After all, they lived through the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, the usual array of divorces, deaths of loved ones, and even job losses. "Yet they don't seem to internalize it," Perls says. "They just let it go."

Symptoms of Stress
According to the health information website, WebMD.com, tension is often the first signal of acute stress. Tense muscles are tight and feel "hard" to the touch. A tense mind makes you feel jumpy, irritable, and unable to concentrate.

How Can You "Just Let it Go"?
To benefit from the recent research and try to let stress "roll off your back," here are a few tips on how you can keep yourself calm in tense situations and how you can relax and unwind from a stressful day.

• Count to Ten - If a situation gets really bad, count to ten slowly to give yourself time to think about the best way to react.
  
  
• Talk To Yourself - As you slowly breathe in, say to yourself, "I am." As you breathe out, say slowly to yourself "calm." Repeat this until your mind is calm and you can focus on your breathing.
  
  
• Write It Out - Writing can be good therapy. If you're overloaded with worries, take a pencil and paper and spend 20 minutes writing down your concerns and possible solutions to the problems.
  
  
• Take A Break - Get a change of scenery by doing something simple. A walk outdoors can give you a new outlook on a situation.
  
  
• Take A Bath - Add some soothing music and scented bath oil and let your stress just melt away!
  
  
• Get Back To Nature - Nature can be a great stress-reducer. Drive to the ocean and take a walk on the beach or just watch the waves rolling ashore. Stroll through a flower garden or nature trail. Listen to a tape of ocean sounds or birds.

Relaxing for 15 minutes or more a day, using these techniques or others that you might discover on your own, can go a long way in relieving stress.