Stress and Ageing: The Telomere Study
Oct 22, 2026The original paper
Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, Morrow JD, Cawthon RM. Accelerated Telomere Shortening in Response to Life Stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004.
Read the original paper on PubMed →
Summary
Telomeres are protective caps on our chromosomes that shorten as cells age. This study measured them in 58 mothers, some of whom were caring for a chronically ill child.
How stressed a woman felt predicted the state of her telomeres. The women with the highest perceived stress had cells that looked roughly 9–17 years older than the least stressed women. (Co-author Elizabeth Blackburn later won the Nobel Prize for her work on telomeres.)
Key finding
The most stressed women's cells looked 9–17 years older.
Why this matters
Stress isn't just a feeling — it reaches down to the cellular level. Resolving it matters for the body, not just the mind.
Research is summarised in plain language for a general audience. Hypnotherapy and energy healing are complementary approaches and are not a substitute for medical or psychiatric care.