New research shows how too much of a rushed, overbooked, multi-tasking, high-stress, "Manhattan-pace" lifestyle is shortening your lifespan and stunning your immune system at the cellular level, by inhibiting the cells youth enzyme, telomerase.

Every cell contains a tiny clock called a telomere, which shortens each time the cell divides. Short telomeres are linked to a range of human diseases, including HIV, osteoporosis, heart disease and aging. Previous studies show that an enzyme within the cell, called telomerase, keeps immune cells young by preserving their telomere length and ability to continue dividing.

UCLA scientists have found that the stress hormone cortisol suppresses the immune cells’ ability to activate their telomerase. This may explain why the cells of persons under chronic stress have shorter telomeres. The study reveals how stress makes people more susceptible to illness.

The research, funded in part by the National Institute of Aging, was published in the May 2008 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity .

The study findings also suggest a potential drug target for preventing damage to the immune systems of persons who are under long-term stress, such as caregivers to chronically ill family members, as well as astronauts, soldiers, air traffic controllers and people who drive long daily commutes.

“When the body is under stress, it boosts production of cortisol to support a “fight or flight” response,” explains study author Rita Effros of the UCLA School of Medicine. “If the hormone remains elevated in the bloodstream for long periods of time, though, it wears down the immune system. We are testing therapeutic ways of enhancing telomerase levels to help the immune system ward off cortisol’s effect. If we’re successful, one day a pill may exist to strengthen the immune system’s ability to weather chronic emotional stress” (Newswise).

In the meantime, review your stressed schedule to see if it can be relaxed some, practice relaxation techniques, de-stress with regular exercise, and get enough sleep. Also get counseling if needed. Exercise physiology studies also suggest that Vitamin C in doses of up to 2000 mg per day (divided doses) can at least in the short term blunt the adrenal glands’ release of cortisol when under acute exercise stress, but we are still awaiting Vitamin C studies regarding chronic stress and Vitamin C benefits for cortisol release normalization over a longer period of time.