Anger, Stress, and Lung Power
Age isn't the only factor in declining lung power. Turns out, anger plays a big role as well.
In a recent study out of London, researchers monitored 670 men between the ages of 45 and 86 for eight years. When the study was over, they noticed that the men who had the highest levels of anger for the longest period of time also had the poorest lung funtion.
This is one of the first studies to show how hostility and anger actually affect your physical-and not just your mental-health.
The researchers used a scoring system to measure anger levels in the men, and tested their lung power three times during the study. Of course they took into account factors like smoking and heart disease.
But even with those things factored in, the angriest men were still the ones breathing less easy.
Previous studies have linked hostility and anger to other diseases like heart disease and asthma. The researchers suggested that such negative emotions can actually change biological processes, disturbing your immune system and causing chronic inflammation.
So, once again, it's time for me to recommend one of my favorite cures: good old talk therapy, or anger management, to be more specific.
If you notice yourself frequently being angry or hostile, especially irrationally so, the best thing you can possibly do for your health (and those around you) is to seek help now, so that 10 years from now you're not getting angry about something much worse: being unable to breathe.
