MANILA — A 28-year-old with grey streaks. A 34-year-old who keeps forgetting where she put her keys. These are the moments that make people in their prime wonder if their bodies are racing toward old age at double speed.
Neurologists say no. Not necessarily. The distinction matters across much of Asia, where long work hours and family obligations are the norm.
Dr. Neha Pandita, Senior Consultant Neurologist and Unit Head at Fortis Hospital in Noida, laid out the picture in comments to HT Lifestyle. Genetics, nutrition, sleep, lifestyle habits and underlying medical conditions all factor in. So does chronic stress.
But none of it automatically means accelerated ageing. What is actually happening inside the body?
Stress triggers the fight-or-flight response. That releases hormones meant to help handle an immediate threat. The problem starts when the threat never goes away.
When stress becomes chronic, the body stays in that state too long. The consequences are concrete. Prolonged exposure to those stress hormones disrupts sleep quality.
It increases inflammation. It alters metabolism.
It impairs brain function. For families across the region, the daily grind of juggling work, caregiving and financial pressures may be taking a toll in ways that are not always visible. A bad night of sleep becomes a pattern.
A foggy morning becomes a bad week. The brain is especially vulnerable.
Dr. Pandita explained that stress levels can affect the hippocampus. That is the area central to learning and memory. The result: trouble concentrating.
Memory that feels unreliable. A sense that the mind is slowing down. Grey hair in your twenties or poor memory in your thirties feels deeply unsettling.
It sparks fears that the body or brain is ageing far too quickly. But the neurologist’s message is that these changes do not necessarily mean that is what is happening.
Chronic stress can influence several biological processes linked to healthy ageing. That is a real risk. But it is not the same as being on a fast track to old age.
The distinction is important for people who see these signs and assume the worst. What now?
The report does not offer a simple fix. But understanding the difference between normal ageing and stress-driven changes is a starting point. The factors Dr. Pandita listed — genetics, nutrition, sleep, lifestyle, medical conditions — are things people can examine.
Stress is one variable among many. For a 30-year-old in Manila or Mumbai or Bangkok who cannot remember what they walked into the kitchen for, that distinction might be the difference between panic and a plan. The body is not necessarily failing.
It may just be exhausted.
