Do you have a nagging flatmate, a drama-loving relative or a grating colleague? Research now shows that apart from being just annoying, these people can actively age you prematurely.
Professor Luke O'Neill, School of Biochemistry and Immunology at TCD, joined Drivetime to share his insights into the physiological strain of 'hasslers' and what to do to counter act it.
'Hasslers', as it turns out, is the scientific name for people who suck out your energy and grate on your nerves, O'Neill says. He explains that studies are showing that each hassler can remove up to nine months from your life.
One study included 2,500 people, who were monitored over many months. The people who had a number of hasslers in their life were seen to be ageing faster, by roughly nine months, O'Neill says.
Scientists measure age in two ways, he explains: chronological age, which is your age in the number of years you've lived, and biological age, which can vary due to a number of factors like lifestyle. So a 40-year-old man could have the heart of a 50-year-old man, he says.
"Your DNA gets stained as you age", O'Neill says. "You might have the DNA of someone who's 20 years older, based on these markers. It's chemical marks."
These marks cause inflammation in the body, which can lead to other physical complaints. "The more stains you have, the more inflammation there is and therefore the tissue is ageing more."
But what makes a hassler, and where should you draw the line? Some annoyances are a normal part of life, and cutting out people who bother you isn't wise, recommended or even helpful. So how do you spot a hassler?
"It's someone who regularly criticises you, undermines you, is hostile toward you, there's various definitions, often - that might mean two or three times a week", O'Neill says.
The research makes a distinction, however, between kin hasslers - people in your family - and spouse hasslers, who didn't have the same affect on ageing as other hasslers.
The biggest observed hassler in the research? A sibling.
"The reason for this is, you're kind of obliged to be with them and you've got to hang out with them and have a relationship with them", O'Neill explains. "So if you've got a sibling who is a hassler, that was causing an even more severe affect on the ageing process, whereas a spouse was less, and I think that's because a spouse is also providing supports and intimacy".
This is called "the buffer", something that softens any hassling.
While you can't always stop a hassler from hassling, O'Neill says there are ways to stop your DNA from being stained, such as exercising, eating a good diet and avoiding smoking.
Listen back to the full interview above.
