At the heart of our Quality of Life (QoL) Program is a simple but powerful insight: chronic stress accelerates aging. This is especially true for high-achieving individuals who operate under constant pressure to exceed expectations in the workplace, while simultaneously trying to keep up with the demands of their personal life.
In biological terms, stress occurs when your body perceives a threat to its internal balance, or homeostasis. Maintaining homeostasis involves a series of tightly regulated physiological processes (temperature regulation, blood glucose, fluid balance and other important systems that keep the body’s internal environment safe and healthy.
When triggered by stress, such as emotional strain, lack of sleep or mental overload, the brain responds by activating a cascade of hormonal and neurological responses to maintain homeostasis. From an evolutionary standpoint, a stress response (often referred to as a fight or flight response), is designed to provide short-term benefits, such as increased blood flow, alertness and energy mobilization). While these are protective in temporary situations, long-term chronic stress disrupts cognition, emotional regulation, digestion, metabolism, immunity and overall cellular health, ultimately driving inflammation, burnout, and premature aging.
