Mar 13, 2026
3 min read
Researchers observed a link between chronic stress caused by such people and the overall rate of cellular aging.
Spending time with these kinds of people gets really old
Chronic stress can accelerate biological aging—whether the stress is caused by debt, overtime, or your annoying uncle who ends up wanting to "play devil's advocate."
That's right: scientists have measured the effect of "Hessler" in your life on the rate at which your cells age, and the results are dire.
According to the results of a study conducted in Indiana, the hustler has the potential to accelerate cellular aging by about 1.5%, which means that the hustle-induced cells age by about 1.015 biological years for every calendar year.
Lead author and NYU sociology professor Byungkyu Lee clarified that being depressed doesn't necessarily make people live longer.Instead, he and other researchers saw "some sort of relationship between depression and age."
The researchers found that habitual hustling does the same biological damage as "traditional chronic stress" such as finance, systemic discrimination and the workplace.
The resulting accelerated aging can lead to inflammation, a weakened immune system, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, among other things.
"Even small effects can add up in terms of biological aging," co-author Bree Perry, a sociology professor at Indiana University, told the Washington Post.
To reach their findings, researchers analyzed data from a recent health survey in Indiana that included more than 2,000 participants.Participants were asked to reflect on their relationships over the past six months and rate their general health, as well as how often other people in their lives bothered them or caused problems.
The researchers also collected saliva samples to study the epigenetic markers of each participant.Advanced DNA evaluation tools allowed the team to predict individual aging patterns, other health conditions and risk of death.
The outlook would seem to be especially bleak for people who report close ties with several hasslers. And the negative impact on cellular health was even greater when the hassler was a family member (most commonly a child or a parent).
Negative social relationships, with family or otherwise, are quite common, with 30% of people reporting at least one bully in their immediate circle.
But, the authors explained, harassment was "disproportionately experienced by individuals who faced greater social and health vulnerability."
In particular, the study found that people in poor health and those who believed they had a difficult childhood were more likely to report distress.
Women, regardless of other factors, reported having more difficulty than men, which did not surprise the research team.
"Women are affected positively and negatively by what happens in their relationships and their relationships with other people," Perry explained.
“It is no surprise to us that women can have more problematic people in their lives.Part of this is because they tend to be aware of the problems other people have and feel those problems and view those problems as stress,” he adds.
But of course, while negative social relationships can do real biological harm, the opposite is also true: strong, positive relationships provide many benefits, from a lower risk of cognitive decline to an overall longer life.
So the answer is not to isolate yourself from people, which has its own harmful effects on health: a recent World Health Organization report said that some 871,000 deaths a year can be attributed to loneliness.
Still, prolonged close contact with runners can shave years off your life.If the tried-and-true opt-out method isn't an option — like with family, roommates, neighbors, colleagues or anyone else who can't be let go so easily — Perry said the best approach is to set a deadline.
"If you find that the person causing the problem has a negative biological influence on you, set limits on the effort you put into the relationship," she advised.
