Regular contact with irritating or emotionally challenging people can accelerate biological aging by about 1.5%. The strongest effect comes from “toxic” friends and relatives, rather than casual acquaintances, according to research published in Psychology Today.
Negative relationships can significantly affect health. Constant stress from conflicts or difficult interactions impacts the body like chronic stress: it increases the load on the nervous system, disrupts sleep, and promotes inflammatory processes. Over time, this can affect the rate at which cells age.
The study involved over 2,300 volunteers. Researchers assessed biological age using modern DNA analysis methods based on epigenetic markers, which indicate how quickly the body’s cells are aging.
Participants were also asked to identify people whose interactions regularly caused stress or tension. It turned out that 28.8% of respondents regularly interacted with at least one such person, with women experiencing this situation more often than men.
The results showed that each “toxic” person in a close social circle was associated with an acceleration of biological aging of about 1.5%. On average, the biological age of participants with stressful social contacts was roughly nine months higher than that of people with less stressful connections.
The most noticeable impact came from close individuals—friends and relatives—likely because interactions with them are more frequent and carry greater emotional weight.
Previously, scientists discovered 37 “longevity proteins” in the blood of long-lived individuals, associated with health preservation and slower aging.
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