Lies and health

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

If you want to dramatically improve your health, stop lying. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the American University of Notre Dame.

To understand how truthfulness can improve health, Anita Kelly and colleagues tested 110 subjects for 10 weeks in an experiment called "Science of Truth."

The volunteers were divided into 2 groups. In the first group, the participants were forbidden to tell a lie, while the other group of subjects could behave as usual. Every week, the participants in the experiment came to the laboratory so that the researchers could assess their state of health and use a lie detector to check the degree of misinformation presented as the truth over this period of time.

The laboratory analysis showed that the improvement in health status is directly related to the decrease in the level of lies. Volunteers who tried to cheat less reported that they became calmer, their headaches and throat irritations disappeared. At the same time, even in group B, those subjects who deliberately limited themselves in everyday lies also began to feel better in comparison with the rest of the control group.

Scientists emphasized that people who do not use false excuses for trifles (for example, why they were late for work, did not complete current tasks), do not exaggerate their achievements or talents, it is easier to build personal relationships and establish contacts in society.

All participants in the experiment " Science of Truth"Were satisfied with their" honest life ", they did not even suspect that the lie not only complicates their life, but also worsens their health.

According to the Washington-based scientists from Seattle, who conducted experiments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, sometimes lying can not only worsen the physical and mental health of a person, but also be a truly deadly occupation. This is especially true of cases when a lie is used at a doctor's appointment, where it is necessary to tell as truthfully as possible about the symptoms of the disease and the patient's lifestyle.