Feeling mentally and physically exhausted after spending time with people you categorise as toxic is a common experience. However, the same experience is also likely hurting one’s longevity by making them biologically age faster, claimed Dr Thomas Paloschi, a longevity medical doctor specialising in preventive age management and functional medicine.
Taking to Instagram on April 15, Dr Paloschi shared the details of a study published in the February 2026 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) journal, titled, ‘Negative social ties as emerging risk factors for accelerated ageing, inflammation, and multimorbidity.’
The study analysed 2,345 people using DNA methylation-based biological ageing clocks. They also measured the presence of “hasslers” in the close network of the participants. Hasslers are defined as people who create problems or make life more difficult.
The finding was that each additional hassler in one’s life is associated with approximately nine months of extra biological age and a 1.5 percent faster pace of ageing. The presence of three hasslers translates to almost 2.5 years older at the cellular level.
Worse news is that since the hasslers are people who are close to the individuals, it is not easy to walk away from them. Nearly one in three people are found to have at least one hassler in their life, who are parents, siblings, co-workers or friends.
How do hasslers contribute to biological ageing?
Dr Paloschi explained that the chronic interpersonal stress that one experiences due to the presence of “hasslers” activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is the body’s alarm system. That results in the following:
- Excess cortisol in the system
- Shutting down of telomerase (the enzyme that protects DNA)
- Rise in chronic inflammation
The study also shows that family members have an even stronger effect on biological ageing than non-family hasslers. However, spouse hasslers do not show any significant effect. This is likely because spouses share routines, resources, and emotional intimacy that may buffer the stress. But when it comes to sibling, parent, or in-law hasslers, the buffer is removed, and there is only damage.
The study found these groups reported more hasslers:
- Women, who are more likely to absorb relational stress
- People with adverse childhood experiences
- Daily smokers and those in poorer health
- People who feel others depend on them
How to protect oneself from the effects of hasslers?
Setting boundaries when it comes to interacting with people who drain an individual is not selfish, highlighted Dr Paloschi. Steps to take that are likely to mitigate the effect include the following.
- Set limits on time with chronic hasslers
- Build supportive connections: strong social ties have been shown to increase survival by up to 50%
- Exercise: the strongest stress buffer (moderates the stress-telomere relationship)
- Nervous system regulation: breathwork, mindfulness, and CBT have been shown to reduce cortisol and protect telomere length.
