A new study suggests difficult or toxic people in your social circle may actually speed up biological ageing. Researchers found stressful relationships can increase inflammation and accelerate ageing markers, highlighting how social stress affectsYou often hear that stress is bad for health.

You might also have heard or even felt in your gut that a particular toxic person around you is making you feel more fatigued, distressed and unhappy.

But what if science did actually swing back and reveal that the people around you, especially those who constantly create conflict, could actually make you age faster? A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that difficult or stressful individuals in one's social network may accelerate biological ageing.

Researchers describe such individuals as "hasslers", people who consistently create stress through criticism, conflict or negative behaviour.

The findings highlight how social environments can influence physical health, not just mental wellbeing. Scientists increasingly recognise that chronic stress affects multiple biological systems in the body, from inflammation to immune function.

Over time, these effects can contribute to what researchers call accelerated biological ageing, meaning the body ages faster than expected for a person's chronological age.

Source:Ndtv