Burning the candle at both ends leads to early death

The candle

Editor - Many Americans "burn the candle at both ends,"which science tells us leads to early death.  It is a wake-up call medical experts say should be repeated to get folks to slow down.

Stress kills, science says. Living fast can cause early death, especially with stress added to medical problems or drugs, as occurred in the case of  Michael Jackson who died young.  Others like Mick Jaggar say they look haggard because of that "burning of the candle."

Medical experts maintain the human body’s stress response develops when an individual perceives he or she is under threat. This threat can be an enormous task that a person believes might be impossible, a physical threat such as an animal attack or illness, or unique social or economic burdens.

In fact science maintains the stress response is a protective one, in that it can save a person from danger by alerting one to that danger, but that over time stress can actually destroy brain cells and kill. Stress is the mechanism that allows man to survive, but it is also the mechanism to impact life span when it is long-standing and perceived negatively over a period of time. Then the response isn’t fight or flight but fight, fight, fight; and that’s not good.

 Scientific conclusions and circumstantial evidence present evidence chronic emotional stress can be associated with heart disease and consequently early death. There are a number of reasons or factors that create the link between heart disease and stress.

 According to anecdotal reports and research, those who have chronic stress are more apt to take up bad habits such as smoking, overeating or drugs. They are also less likely to exercise. In addition, in the medical arena, it has been found a surge in adrenaline that is caused by severe emotional stress causes the blood to clot faster, which increases heart attack risks.

 Michael Jackson underwent a series of stressful events that likely affected him long term. He reported considerable stress when he was reported to have sexually abused children and went through a series of legal battles about it. He had financial problems also reported to be significant. In addition he was planning a series of concerts as a comeback, which required considerable physical and emotional energy. He was known to have been addicted to drugs and to use them as a form of escape. These are all stresses, as indicated by scientists, that can create heart disease and early death.

But the ordinary person in America is also working longer hours and doing more things, despite the benefits of technology.  Spare time is no longer used for play or rest but for
some other activity that can also be stressful.

The entertainment industry has a relatively high rating for alcohol and drug abuse compared with other industries.

Truckdrivers also have among the highest rate of alcohol abuse as do those in the food and drink industry. Truck drivers with their stressful lives, long hours on the road, falling asleep at the
wheel and using alcohol to beat the blues brings them to early deaths as well.

Women who work in food preparation are said to have high stress because of customer demands, low pay and multiple responsibilities that have to be accomplished in specific time frames under specific demands.

High stress coupled with a specific occupation added to drug abuse are potentially lethal
combinations,science has found as well as sleeping less and trying to do more in smaller and smaller bits of time.

All of these things can add up to increases in mental and physical illness, all of which are exploding as the real epidemics, caused, as scientists tell us, from burning the candle at both ends and not spending time in quiet solitude to smell those roses that can give us help and longer lives.