How Reducing Stress Can Increase Your Longevity By a Clinical Psychologist

 

🧠 How Reducing Stress Can Increase Your Longevity

And the Daily Tools I Use to Reset, Recharge, and Reclaim Peace

In today’s overextended world, stress isn’t just an emotional burden—it’s a biological risk. Research increasingly shows that chronic stress accelerates aging, shortens lifespan, and increases vulnerability to nearly every major disease. But here’s the good news: intentional micro-resets and wellness tech can help us course-correct daily—and even extend our lives.

Let’s dive into the science, the tools, and one simple practice you can start today.

🧬 The Link Between Stress and Longevity

Stress triggers the release of cortisol and other glucocorticoids, which—when elevated chronically—are linked to:

• Shortened telomeres, a biological marker of aging
• One study found that women with high perceived stress had shortened telomeres equivalent to a decade of additional aging (Epel et al., 2004, PNAS)

• Impaired immune function, reducing the body’s ability to fight off illness

• Increased systemic inflammation, a precursor to heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline

📚 A meta-analysis published in Health Psychology found that chronic psychological stress significantly increases the risk of all-cause mortality (Chida & Steptoe, 2008).

🧘‍♀️ What Are Micro-Resets—And Why Do They Matter?

Think of a micro-reset as a nervous system pit stop.
A micro-reset is a 30-second to 5-minute activity that disrupts the stress cycle and signals safety to your body. This isn't woo—it's polyvagal-informed and grounded in neuroscience.

My Go-To Micro-Resets:

• Hand-on-heart + 3 deep breaths

• Aromatherapy pause using lavender or citrus oils

• 15-second gaze on a calming object (plant, candle, photo)

• Cold splash or peppermint towel to activate vagus nerve

These practices engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which reduces heart rate, lowers cortisol, and restores balance (Porges, 2011, The Polyvagal Theory).

🔬 The Rise of Mental Health Tech in Daily Stress Management

1. Oura Ring

Tracks heart rate variability (HRV), sleep cycles, and stress levels—allowing you to optimize recovery and know when your body needs rest.

Studies show that higher HRV is associated with better stress resilience and longevity (Thayer & Lane, 2009).

🛒 Shop my Oura Ring case and chargers here

2. Apollo Neuro

A wearable that delivers soothing vibrations to improve HRV and calm the nervous system in real-time.

In clinical trials, users had 40% less stress and anxiety, and 19% improvements in sleep after three months (Apollo Neuroscience, 2020 Study).

🛒 Check out Apollo-friendly bands and cases here

3. MindSpa

Light and sound therapy device that promotes deep relaxation and theta brainwave activity—ideal for anxiety, burnout, and insomnia.

Light and audio stimulation has been shown to induce brainwave states associated with meditation and calm (Tang et al., 2015, Trends in Cognitive Sciences).

🛒 See accessories I recommend for MindSpa

🧠 A Teachable Tool: The 4-Part Daily Nervous System Reset

You don’t need fancy gear to reset—just a few minutes and intentional practice.
I teach this to clients and use it daily myself:

💛 The R.E.S.T. Formula™ (Repeat Daily)

Step	What to Do	Why It Works
R	Regulate your breath – 4-6-8	Shifts you into parasympathetic calm
E	Engage your senses – aromatherapy, texture, light	Anchors you in the present moment
S	Stretch + Shake it off	Discharges trapped tension from the body
T	Track a positive – gratitude, joy, or relief	Rewires the brain away from negativity bias

🛒 I’ve created an Amazon list of tools for the R.E.S.T. Formula here

🧩 Final Thoughts: You Don’t Need a Life Overhaul—You Need a Micro Shift

We don’t age just because the calendar changes.
We age because our bodies carry unprocessed stress, tension, and disconnection.
But when we intentionally reset—even in micro-moments—we remind our bodies we are safe, supported, and still in control.

I’ll be sharing more tools like this live every Sunday on Amazon—where we breathe, shop, and reset together.

🎥 Join me for my next Reset & Reclaim Live or shop my wellness Amazon finds here. Suscribe to yjis blog for useful information on mental wellness and tips on reducing stress the scientific way!!!

📚 References:

• Epel, E. S., et al. (2004). Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. PNAS, 101(49), 17312-17315.

• Chida, Y., & Steptoe, A. (2008). The association of anger and hostility with future coronary heart disease: a meta-analytic review of prospective evidence. Health Psychology, 27(5), 521–530.

• Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2009). Claude Bernard and the heart–brain connection: Further elaboration of a model of neurovisceral integration. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 33(2), 81–88.

• Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory. Norton & Co.

• Tang, Y. Y., et al. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213–225.

• Apollo Neuro Study. (2020). Clinical trial results. Retrieved from apolloneuro.com