Can Stress Be Good for You? New Study Says Yes
Stress can wreak havoc on the human body, causing all kinds of unhealthy problems, from disrupting sleep to triggering a slew of negative emotions. However, a new study suggests there may be some benefit to stress, at least as long as it’s not overloaded. Researchers analyzed over 1,000 MRI scans of people with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and found that those who reported having low or moderate stress levels had increased activity in the parts of the brain that involve working memory. “Our findings show that low to moderate levels of perceived stress were associated with elevated working memory neural activation, resulting in better mental performance,” Assaf Oshri, lead author of the study, said. Read more.
