Mulling over the past, stewing about problems, dissecting every little remark your boss makes, worrying about the future. These mental habits take a toll on the body, according to cutting-edge research on the biology of brooding.
Humans are the only species prone to “overthinking” that solves nothing, says Julian Thayer, a psychologist at Ohio State University.
Our complex brains “have allowed us to achieve great civilizations, but they also are maladaptive,” Thayer says, because people can fall into mental potholes that aren’t a threat to animals.
And it’s not a benign fall. New studies suggest that those who ruminate a lot may have higher blood pressure and heart rates, less-effective immune systems, surges of stress hormones that strain the heart, more depression and perhaps even shorter life spans.
Everyone experiences stress, but chronic brooders prolong and amplify their stress, says psychologist Nicholas Christenfeld of the University of California-San Diego.
He gives adults stressful or frustrating tasks in his studies, then checks what happens to the bodies of those who either ruminate a lot afterward or don’t. The original stress causes heart rate and blood pressure to rise, but people who don’t fret afterward come down to their original, healthier levels much quicker than those who keep stewing, Christenfeld says.
Vigorous exercise and even listening to soothing classical music also speed physical recovery, so distraction may prevent harmful effects in the short term, he says.
Still, those who often react to stress by brooding have less of a blood pressure drop overnight than people who usually let go of things, shows a new study by psychologist Brenda Key of the University of Calgary.
Smaller-than-normal dips in blood pressure at night have been linked to a higher risk of dying from strokes and heart attacks, she adds.
Other research finds that dwelling on an unpleasant experience increases the release of chemicals that can weaken the immune system over time; this may hamper someone’s ability to fight illness, Christenfeld says. Increases in the stress hormone cortisol after rumination also can hinder the immune system and contribute to cardiovascular disease, he says.
There’s no proof that chronic overthinkers die sooner because of it, Christenfeld says. But one new study suggests that may be the case, at least for men.
The study began with more than 1,600 men ages 40 to 90. At the start, they were given personality tests. They were tracked for 17 years to see how a trait called neuroticism affected survival.
Those who score high in the neurotic trait are “worrywarts” who cope poorly with stress and tend to be highly anxious or depressed, says study leader Daniel Mroczek of Purdue University. “They don’t let things roll off their backs.”
Among men who were high in this trait at the start and became even more so over time, half had died 17 years after the study started.
Among those who were high in neuroticism at the start but didn’t increase, and the less neurotic, 75 percent to 85 percent were still alive.
The good news: “People can change,” Mroczek says. “If you learn to worry or fret less, you may add time to your life.”
But the findings apply only to men, he emphasizes.
Women are more likely than men to overthink, says psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema of Yale University, who has studied rumination for years.
Women brood about things that make them sad or anxious; men are more likely to stew about anger, she says.
And you don’t have to be an adult to suffer bad health effects. In her latest, four-year study of adolescent girls, she found that girls prone to ruminating were more likely than the others to develop eating disorders, alcohol problems and depression. Future chronic ruminators often were anxious little kids, Nolen-Hoeksema says.
The science of how overthinking affects bodies is still young, says William Gerin of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons.
“But so far we’ve learned that if you catch yourself ruminating a lot, it’s probably contributing to unhappiness and physical health problems, as well,” he says. “It’s not the stress that kills us, it’s how we respond to it.”
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How to deal with stress healthfully
Many people overthink because they’re trying to solve problems or get over life traumas, says Stephen Lepore, a public-health researcher at Temple University.
But other methods are more effective. Writing one’s deepest feelings about stressful experiences can improve health “and take the sting out. It acts like a buffer.” People who worry too much also can try these methods recommended by Yale University psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema:
Seek out new friends who prefer to help solve problems rather than indulge in mutual hand-wringing.
Meditate or pray regularly.
Schedule limited “overthink” sessions; don’t do it any other time.
Work on forgiveness and lowering unrealistically high expectations.
