GOSSIP IS GOOD FOR YOU
While it might send our phone bill soaring, recent research suggests that a good gossip can actually make us healthier.
Scientists have found that women who chat regularly are happier and healthier as gossiping boosts levels of progesterone, a hormone which reduces anxiety and stress.
Researchers at the University of Michigan put 160 female students in pairs, and half were given questions to ask each other designed to bring them closer together. These included ‘Given the choice of anyone in the world, who would you want as a dinner guest?’ and ‘What has been your greatest accomplishment?’ The remaining pairs were asked to proof-read a research paper on botany.
After 20 minutes, the students who got to know each other through ‘chatty’ questions saw progesterone levels stay the same or increase but in the other group, progesterone declined.
Professor Stephanie Brown, who led the research, said: ‘Many of the hormones involved in bonding and helping behaviour lead to reductions in stress and anxiety. Higher levels of progesterone may be part of the underlying basis of these effects.’
‘It’s important to find the links between biological mechanisms and human social behaviour,’ she added. ‘These links help us understand why people in close relationships are happier, healthier and live longer than those who are socially isolated.’
Progesterone is produced in the ovaries, and also serves to prepare the womb for pregnancy, fight infection and stop the over-production of oestrogen that could raise the risk of cancer.
So forget the phone bill and get chatting!
Amy Lindsay – MyFaceMyBody.com Journalist
