Stress and anxiety biggest cause of ageing in women

A recent poll of more than 1,000 women, who live in Surrey and the South East, has revealed that the majority believe stress and anxiety have aged them the most since turning 30. Nearly 30% cited stress and anxiety as having a detrimental impact on their looks, followed by lack of sleep at 21%.

The survey, conducted by Surrey-based cosmetic medical clinic Health + Aesthetics, Farnham, found that, despite studies regularly citing sun damage and smoking in particular as key causes of ageing, women still believe stress and anxiety have a much bigger impact on their skin.

Factors such as sun damage, smoking and alcohol intake had just 13% of the results combined. 18% of women surveyed chose “having children” as the most significant impact on how they’ve aged. Anxiety and stress are a common side-effect of having children, with specific causes of stress including post-natal depression and the pressure and guilt that can come with being a working mum. 15% also chose poor diet and fitness as the womenkey cause of ageing since they turned 30.

Dr Rekha Tailor, medical director at Health + Aesthetics, commented, “Frowning and a lack of sleep are two obvious side-effects that stress and anxiety can have on the skin. However, being in a constant state of stress can actually slow down the skin renewal process and cause us to produce more of the hormones that cause acne breakouts. Stress can also worsen existing skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea.”