Dwelling on past mistakes can increase inflammation in the body

20 March, 2013

A study says thinking about past can increase the inflammation in the body. Those who stay awake at night, tossing and turning and dwelling on past mistakes and making their night's sleep difficult, not only make themselves drowsy the next morning, but also have some negative effects, which increase inflammation in the body, the study has found.

The research study done by Ohio University claims thinking about negative experiences causes inflammation as the immune system’s response to outside dangers, and demonstrates that the body is working to repair any damage, from an infection to a laceration. However, this chronic inflammation in turn is related to many health disorders like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and depression.

The study was done on 34 healthy women, who were asked to give a speech as a part of a job interview. Later, half of them were asked to think about the performance and half were asked to think about neutral act. The study found that the women who dwelled about the interview have comparatively higher levels of C-reactive protein in their blood. These are a kind of protein levels which are used to detect whether a person has an infection.

The lead study author Peggy Zoccola, an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State, said in a press release: “More and more chronic inflammation is being associated with various disorders and conditions. The immune system plays an important role in various cardiovascular disorders, such as heart disease, as well as cancer, dementia, and autoimmune diseases.”