3172: How Does Stress Affect How We Age? How to Slow Aging and Stay Young on Managing Stress and Supporting Healthy Aging

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.4 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3172: Dr. Neal Malik explains how toxic stress accelerates the aging process by driving inflammation and keeping the body in a constant state of fight-or-flight. He breaks down the difference between good and harmful stress, and shares simple, science-backed strategies, like deep breathing, exercise, sleep, and social connection, to help you stay youthful and resilient. Quotes to ponder: "Good stress is also called 'eustress' that sense of accomplishment after finishing a tough workout." "With chronic distress, it’s like your body never gets a chance to relax and go back to normal." "Think of stress management like you would any other important event or meeting during your day." Episode references: Harvard Health Publishing – How Stress Affects the Body: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response American Psychological Association – Stress Effects on the Body: https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body The Power of Now: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.7	It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neil Malik.
0:05.5	Hey there, welcome back to another Friday show where I answer your questions.
0:09.4	On all the other days, I read health and fitness blogs to you, like an audiobook, with permission
0:14.0	from the authors, of course.
0:15.9	Now, I'll let you know how you can send in your own question at the end of the show and get rewarded
0:20.3	for it.
0:21.2	But for now, let's jump right in and hear today's question and start optimizing your life.
0:30.6	Today's question came via email.
0:32.9	Brittany writes,
0:33.6	How does stress affect how we age?
0:36.9	Is it possible for our thoughts to heal us? And what are the
0:40.1	best ways to stay young? Thank you so much for taking the time to send in your questions, Brittany.
0:46.5	Stress does seem to speed up the aging process. Some of the reasons why this happens is a bit of a mystery,
0:53.0	but I'll share the latest research that I've
0:55.2	seen. But before we get to that, I need to talk about the different types of stress. This is so
1:00.4	important because not all forms of stress are bad. So let's first talk about good stress. Yes, good
1:07.0	stress exists, and if we think about it for a second, it won't take long to realize
1:11.5	how this is possible.
1:13.4	Good stress is sometimes called e-U-stress.
1:16.3	Spelled E-U-stress.
1:18.4	Anyways, an example of good stress would be the feelings of exhilaration after writing a
1:23.5	really fun roller coaster, or the sense of accomplishment after finishing a tough workout.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Optimal Living Daily LLC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Optimal Living Daily LLC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.