Stress makes you shorter, research finds

Low job control is significantly associated with greater spinal disk shrinkage during the course of a working day, according to a recent study.

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Body height naturally decreases during the day because of fluid loss from the invertebral disk, but this research suggests that this shrinkage increases among those with lower levels of job control, even after controlling for sex, age, body weight, smoking, biomechanical work strain and time spent on physical and low-effort activities during the day.

Igic I et al (2013). “Does work stress make you shorter? An ambulatory field study of daily work stressors, job control and spinal shrinkage”. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology; vol.18, issue 4, pp.469-480.