# Looking Back Before Qingming Festival in 2026: Why Are More Post-80s and Post-90s Passing Away in Recent Years?

I'm not sure if society is doing this intentionally or unintentionally, but the long-term damage from high stress and prolonged sedentary lifestyles has been severely underestimated.

These two factors devastate the human body comprehensively and without mercy. Dealing with just one of them means your body is definitely going to suffer; dealing with both means premature death is highly probable. Many people don't understand that the human body isn't "compartmentalized"—the emotional, postural, endocrine, nervous, sleep, digestive, and sexual functions of your body are highly integrated. There's no such thing as one aspect being fine while another is bad.

For example, if you experience prolonged mental stress, cortisol levels remain consistently elevated, with direct consequences:

1. Your body desperately craves high-sugar, high-salt, high-carb foods; your body converts visceral fat with extreme efficiency, your belly becomes suddenly distended and hard, and fatty liver develops within some time.

2. Your digestive system remains in stress response; digestive capacity collapses—you either have diarrhea or constipation, take your pick.

3. Neck and shoulder stiffness; sympathetic nervous system hyperactivation; difficulty falling asleep; shallow, light sleep that wakes easily.

4. Your body is exhausted yet unable to relax; sympathetic nervous system activation; erectile dysfunction; or if erections occur, premature ejaculation follows easily.

5. Chest tension; shallow, rapid breathing...Each of these issues then exacerbates all the others, your physical condition deteriorates like a death spiral, until your body and mind are completely broken down and collapse.

A classic scenario of high stress combined with prolonged sitting is exam preparation (long-term sleep deprivation + high-pressure environment + prolonged sitting + heavy cognitive labor).

In fact, I believe that after experiencing three years of concentration-camp-style high school life, the vast majority of students have spinal problems (including lumbar, thoracic, and neck issues) and digestive problems—myself included.

In fact, many students who study hard yet have poor learning outcomes isn't really an issue of intelligence or self-discipline at all; the real cause is physical problems. Their body is constantly sending distress signals to them; simply sitting for three hours is already enormous torture for them, let alone thinking and studying efficiently. What they urgently need is deep rest and relaxation.

I've always had a controversial take I haven't dared voice: just from three years of junior high and three years of senior high, China already has a large cohort of young people who will suffer from chronic pain for the rest of their lives.

And this is merely the beginning, not the end. Most of these young people will face even greater life stress and heavier mental or physical labor ahead. The fact that their bodies can hold up until around age 40 is actually quite remarkable.