Do Drugs Make You Age Faster?

Do Drugs Make You Age Faster?

Drug use brings a number of potential risks. In the short-term drug use can affect your behaviour, impairing your judgement and reactions and making you more likely to have an accident. There may also be risks of overdose, depending on the substance involved.

In the longer term, many drugs are addictive and can cause or contribute to a wide range of mental and physical health issues. Again depending on the drug used and how it is taken, there may be damage to the brain, heart, lungs, liver and pretty much every other organ and system in the body.

But can using drugs make you age faster? We’ll take a look at the evidence…

Do Drugs Make You Look Older?

So do drugs make you look older? The short answer is yes. Drug use can cause a number of physical changes that can cause a person to look older in a relatively short space of time. These changes can include damage to the skin, wasting of muscles, damage to bones and teeth, weight fluctuations and a number of other factors. Again, though, the specific effects can vary widely depending on the drug used, along with other factors such as the heaviness and duration of use.

While many people are chiefly concerned about the outward appearance of ageing, there are many other serious effects on the body and mind as we get older. In biological terms, ageing can be defined as “the time-related deterioration of the physiological functions necessary for survival and reproduction”. As such, it affects many different aspects of physical and mental health, as well as making you more susceptible to age-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Accelerated ageing happens when your biological age (the age at which your body and brain appear to be) outpaces chronological age (how old you actually are). One major study found that addiction and substance abuse contribute to accelerated ageing and age-related diseases in a number of different ways.

Causes of Ageing from Using Drugs

The answer to the question, ‘Does alcohol cause ageing?’ is a definite yes, but the causes are not fully understood. In part, this is because the mechanisms of ageing in general are not fully understood. There are a number of different theories and the truth is that ageing is likely to be a combination of many different factors.

One theory of ageing comes down to general ‘wear and tear’, with small traumas to the body building up over time. Drug use can certainly contribute to this as any kind of substance misuse can put extra strain and cause damage to different organs and systems in the body.

When it comes to the appearance of ageing and particularly what drugs do to your face, substance misuse can have a major impact – sometimes as a secondary effect of taking the drug. Lack of sleep and exhaustion can lead to wrinkles and crack effects on face, hands and elsewhere on the skin, for example. Many drugs affect sleep patterns in different ways. Stimulants can directly prevent you from sleeping but even depressants like alcohol and opioids can stop you from getting regular healthy sleep.

Dehydration is another potential cause of skin problems and is associated with a number of different drugs, including alcohol. Scratching the skin can cause infections and rashes and a number of drugs can cause itchiness and even tactile hallucinations.

Does Alcohol Cause Ageing?

While some people tend to think only of illegal drugs when talking of ‘drug use’, alcohol misuse can be just as harmful. In fact, alcohol misuse is the biggest risk factor for death, ill health and disability among 15-49-year-olds in the UK, and the fifth biggest risk factor across all ages. It is also linked to more than 60 medical conditions including high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver and several types of cancer. 

Many of these conditions can have an impact on both your appearance and the way your body and brain work, essentially causing premature ageing in different ways.

Alcohol abuse, particularly over many years, can cause various levels of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD) that can affect memory and the ability to think clearly. At the most severe end of the scale Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, sometimes known as alcohol-related dementia, can result in people struggling to carry out everyday tasks in a similar way to dementia caused by conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Does Smoking Weed Cause Wrinkles?

Smoking reduces the amount of blood flowing to the skin by constricting blood vessels near the skin’s surface, depriving the skin of oxygen and essential nutrients transported in blood. It may also impair the skin’s ability to repair itself and lead to a reduction of essential collagen – all of which can lead to premature ageing of the skin. This can be an issue whether you are smoking cigarettes, weed or another substance.

Another potential cause of skin problems and wrinkles when smoking weed is the disruption it can cause to your sleeping patterns. As already mentioned, tiredness and lack of sleep can be a major cause of skin problems and cannabis can cause restlessness and disrupted sleep. It is also believed that the use of cannabis and other drugs can also cause accelerated ageing related to changes in the DNA.

Seek Help For Drug Use

There are many good reasons to quit using drugs, including preventing premature ageing. Some of the damage and premature ageing caused by drug use may be permanent but other parts may be reversible. You can also prevent further damage if you quit.

This can be easier said than done, however, especially if you have developed a drug addiction. Addiction can rewire the way your brain works and dependence can lead to withdrawal symptoms if you do try to cut down or quit. Addiction treatment at Nova Recovery can help you get through detox and withdrawal, as well as address the psychological aspects and root causes of your addiction.

If you are worried about your own drug use or that of a loved one, get in touch today to find out how we can help.

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John Gillen - Author - Last updated: January 15, 2024

John has travelled extensively around the world, culminating in 19 years’ experience looking at different models. He is the European pioneer of NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide) treatment to Europe in 2010; and recently back from the USA bringing state of the art Virtual Reality Relapse Prevention and stress reduction therapy. His passion extends to other metabolic disturbances and neurodegenerative diseases. The journey continues. In recent times, John has travelled to Russia to study and research into a new therapy photobiomudulation or systemic laser therapy working with NAD+ scientists and the very best of the medical professionals in the UK and the USA, together with Nadcell, Bionad Hospitals own select Doctors, nurses, dieticians and therapists. Johns’ passion continues to endeavour to bring to the UK and Europe new developments with NAD+ Therapy in preventive and restorative medicine and Wellness. In 2017 John Gillen was made a visiting Professor at the John Naisbitt university in Belgrade Serbia.