Does Addiction Cause Premature Aging?

Drug addiction may trigger age-related disease due to the perilous lifestyle and multi-system toxicity.

Inflammation in the brain and periphery, oxidative stress, the decline in brain volume, cellular aging are apparent symptoms of premature aging that arise from addiction.

If you consider the nature of addiction and substance abuse, you will see apart from giving you a temporary high; they don’t benefit your mind and body.

On top of that, if they can make you look older than your actual age, it’s not worth the high.

So, let’s find out more about addiction’s impact on premature aging here.
What Is Biological Aging?
There’s more to aging than wrinkles and gray hair. As you get older, you go from peak performance at maturity to progressive function deterioration.

Aging has an impact on your physiological systems and functional abilities. Although your chronological age may give you an idea of how old you are, biological aging is determined by genetics, behavioral characteristics, and how you interact with the environment.

When your biological age exceeds your chronological age, this is known as accelerated aging.

Drug addiction frequently results in early death and the beginning of the disease. Therefore, a person must obtain quick treatment to prevent rapid biological aging.
Drugs’ Impact On Brain Function
The structure of your brain changes as you get older.

For example, beyond the age of 40, the weight of your brain decreases by around 5% every decade. The declines affect men and women differently.

Men lose more of their frontal lobe, while women lose more of their parietal lobe. Neurons, neurotransmitters, synapses, and receptors are all lost. Unfortunately, people who abuse drugs may see the process speed up.

Every year, methamphetamine addicts lose 6.4% to 8.5% of their grey matter. When a healthy brain is compared to a cocaine addict’s brain, the cocaine addict’s brain volume deteriorates at twice the rate of a healthy brain over a year.
Drugs’ Impact On Other Body Parts
The heart, brain, liver, lungs, and kidneys may all have irreversible functional and anatomical changes due to drug addiction. Cardiovascular system injuries are some of the most well-known side effects of cocaine use.

Hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias, and tachycardia are some of the conditions that can occur. Cocaine usage has also been linked to electrolyte abnormalities, renal failure, and liver failure.

Amphetamine users are more likely to experience cardiac rhythm abnormalities, as well as sudden death. Amphetamines can also produce toxic metabolites, which can harm the liver.

Heroin use can lead to heart disease and persistent brain small vessel damage. In addition, cirrhosis can develop when heroin is combined with alcohol.

Stimulant addiction, such as methamphetamine, can impair motor abilities and cognitive function. However, different motor functions may be regained as a person recovers from methamphetamine addiction.

Severe tooth decay can strike at any moment during a person’s life, but it usually strikes later in life. Meth mouth is a severe dental decay induced by poor diet, dry mouth, and drug-related teeth grinding.
Drugs’ Impact On Skin Health
The condition of a person’s skin and overall look is not always indicative of their health. The majority of the time, though, what is going on inside your body has an impact on your skin.

When a person is addicted to drugs, he will most likely see the consequences in the mirror.

Drug use may appear to have no effect on a person’s looks at first. However, it eventually catches up with the majority of people.

You may be unable to fight infection if you use drugs that weaken your immune system. Those infections may take a long time to heal and, if left untreated, may worsen.

Addiction patients’ skin might get depleted of nutrients due to substance misuse. Similarly, an addict’s way of life may make it difficult to concentrate on skincare. Regular breakouts, fine wrinkles, age spots, and other blemishes may appear on the skin due to severe dehydration or organ disorders.

Dry, flaky skin can also be caused by dehydration. Toxins are tough to wash out because of the medications. In addition, it’s considerably more challenging to heal scars and other imperfections on your face when your skin is dry.

The hue of a person’s skin may change due to drug use.

Hyperpigmentation, for example, is a disorder in which a person’s skin develops dark patches in various locations, especially around injection sites. After extended durations of substance misuse, a person’s complexion may turn gray or pallid.

How Does Addiction Cause Premature Aging?

Addiction to drugs alters a person’s brain, giving birth to mental health issues. It corrupts a person’s desire to learn and subverts how they register pleasure. If you’ve ever dealt with addiction in your personal life, whether it was your own or a loved one’s, you know how it affects those who are affected.

Addiction victims continue to seek out dangerous substances regardless of the consequences. This is because drugs allow a person to swiftly reach the reward system of the brain.

Dopamine is flooded into the nucleus accumbens. When an addict uses drugs, his frontal cortical areas become engaged, but they become deactivated during withdrawal. Drugs bring pleasure and then deprive users of it when they stop using them, leading to a more risky lifestyle.

Many drug rehab centers incorporate nutrition therapy and a healthy eating plan into addiction treatment programs. You have access to nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables that replenish vitamins and minerals, as well as for instructions on how to prepare your healthy menu once your rehab is completed.

A nutritious diet can provide the same degree of enthusiasm and energy as being drunk or high in many ways.

Many drug users are underserved in healthcare and have a lower socioeconomic position. They also don’t eat nutritious foods, get enough sleep, or exercise regularly.

All of these variables can hasten the aging process. If a person takes medicines that change their sleep architecture, they risk developing various age-related disorders.

Sleep is necessary for your neuroendocrine and immunological systems; without it, you may succumb to illness or disease.
Get Better!!!
There are unmistakable indicators of addiction and accelerated aging regarding substance abuse and addiction.

Fighting addiction is the only method to avoid the ravages of early aging.

We can assist you or a loved one who is battling substance misuse. No matter where you are in your addiction, we can help you get back on track.

Photo by christopher lemercier on Unsplash