Momentary Variation in Subjective Age, Perceived Stress, and Physiological Reactivity in Late Midlife

Abstract

The age people feel, their subjective age, can vary on both daily and momentary levels. Previous longitudinal and daily-diary studies have shown that hormonal and self-reported measures of stress covary with subjective age. Our study aims at exploring momentary fluctuations in subjective age and their relation to objective and subjective measures of stress assessed in people’s daily lives. 54 participants aged 50 – 62 years (Mage = 56.1 yrs, 75% female) wore sensors recording their physiological reactivity and reported on perceived stress and subjective age six times per day for one week. We found that a lower subjective age was related to a greater heart rate variability and less perceived stress on a momentary level. Our findings confirm and expand studies showing the association of stress and subjective age and their importance for aging processes in late midlife.