New research suggests stressful life experiences can age the brain by several years.

Experts found even one event early in life, such as the death of a child or losing a job, can impact cognitive function later on.

It's thought that even a change of school could be regarded as a stressful life event for some children.

The team from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health examined data for 1,320 people who reported stressful experiences over their lifetime and underwent neuropsychological tests.

The tests examined several areas including - immediate memory; verbal learning and memory; visual learning and memory; and story recall.

The results showed that a larger number of stressful events was linked to poorer cognitive function in later life.