[Stress and optimal ageing].

Stress is a stimulus or incident which has an exogenic or endogenic influence on an organism and leads to a biological and/or psychological adaptation from the organism by adaptation. Stressors can be differentiated by the temporal impact (e.g. acute, chronic or acute on chronic), strength and quality. The consequences of stress exposure and adaptation can be measured at the cellular level and as (sub) clinical manifestations, where this process can be biologically seen as a continuum. Over the course of life there is an accumulation of stress incidents resulting in a diminution of the capability for adaptation and repair mechanisms. By means of various interventions it is possible to improve the individual capability for adaptation but it is not currently definitively possible to disentangle alterations due to ageing and the development of diseases. As a consequence the term "healthy ageing" should be replaced by the concept of "optimal ageing".