Keeping Calm Under Stress May Keep Us Healthy

Keeping cool in stressful situations could be good for your long-term health, if researchers at Penn State University have things right. The researchers studied two key markers of inflammation, as well as the emotions, of 872 people as those people responded to stressful situations such as arguments or being discriminated against over a period of eight consecutive days. As reported in a Penn State news release, the researchers found that those who failed to maintain positive moods such as cheerfulness or calm had elevated levels of inflammation– a bad thing– because it has been associated with obesity, heart disease and cancer. The researchers warn that in the short-term, with illness or exercise, the body experiences a high immune response to help repair itself, but in the long term, heightened inflammatory immune responses may not be healthy. They believe that people who have trouble regulating their responses may be at risk for certain age-related conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, frailty and cognitive decline.