Lying increases stress - Study

Telling the truth may improve mental and physical health...

 

A new study has found that the mental and physical health of a human can be improved if the number of lies told are cut down.
According to Anita
Kelly, study author and professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, "We found that the participants could purposefully and dramatically reduce their everyday lies; and, that in turn, was associated with significantly improved health."
In the study involving 110 adults, aged 18 to 71, half were asked to stop lying for 10 weeks, while the other half were asked to report the number of lies they told each week.
The participants took a weekly lie detector test and filled out questionnaires about their physical and mental health, as well as the quality of their relationships.
The results showed that both groups reduced their lying, but those who were specifically told to tell the truth lied less and enjoyed improved health.
The study found that participants in the no-lie group told three fewer minor lies a week, reported four fewer mental-health complaints (such as feeling sad or stressed) and three fewer physical complaints (such as headaches or sore throats).
Those in the control group, who independently told fewer lies, recorded fewer health complaints as well, but only by two or three complaints.
By the end of the 10-week study period, participants in the no-lie group were down to one lie a week, while the comparison group was telling more than three lies a week.
The researchers found that in addition to improving their mental and physical health, the truth-tellers said that their close personal relationships and other social interactions had improved.
"I think lying can cause a lot of stress for people, contributing to anxiety and even depression. Lying less is not only good for your relationships, but for yourself as an individual. People might recognise the more devastating impact lying can have on relationships, but probably do not recognise the extent to which it can cause a lot of internal stress," Dr. Bryan Bruno, acting chairman of the department of psychiatry at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said.


..Drop a comment and stop lying please!