Recently Wallet Hub has released their most and least stressed cities.

    Most stressed: Newark NJ Detroit MI Cleveland Ohio Jackson MS Miami FL Birmingham AL San Bernardino CA Rochester NY

    Least stressed: Boise ID Madison WI Peoria AZ Gilbert AZ Irvine CA Sioux Falls SD Scottsdale AZ Overland Park KS

    The stressors in these cities could be commuter stress, unemployment stress (mental), divorce stress (social), poor physical health, pollution etc.

    I do not know about you, but the media is stressing me out. With negative stories and a constant bombardment of trivia my epigenetics are changing.

    Stress, no matter the source, is not good. Every input affects the body. Inputs from food, lifestyle habits, medical conditions, and even food, change the body. Stress can shorten telomeres causing our DNA to age triggering mutations and malfunctions. Next come symptoms and a trip to the doctor.

    Everyone has a genetic hard drive given to us by our parents. The stressors of life make up the software, which changes the hardwiring. We want inputs that improve the hardwiring.

    If everyone in your family loses their hearing at age 70 and you are exposed to the stress of excessive noise, your hearing may worsen sooner. The hardwiring is stressed by the noise.

    The same can be said for other parts of the body. If your genes are prone to dementia and your brain is stressed by alcohol, lack of sleep, pain, poor nutrition, lack of movement or whatever, the brain may age sooner. Medications may treat symptoms but do not address cause.

    The point I want to make is to pay attention to the stressors in your life and limit stress related damage to your DNA. Remembering that all inputs affect the body to some degree.

    The body is much more complicated than we can even imagine. The more I learn, the less I know. As technology progresses, the complexities are being uncovered. Don’t forget, too much media can also be a source of stress. Stay balanced. Try to obtain more physical, mental, social, and spiritual rest.