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Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, a prominent Harvard neuroscientist, proposes a connection between exposure to negative news and metabolic changes. She suggests that the state of uncertainty induced by negative news can significantly impact our metabolism. Some media tends to emphasize adverse events, leading to an involuntary intake of pessimistic information. This perpetual exposure to negative news has the potential to exert a profound influence on our well-being. Individuals who consciously opt out of consuming news may inadvertently be making a favorable choice for their metabolic health.
Dr. Feldman Barrett, who is a professor at Northeastern and Harvard universities and the scientific director of the Center for Law, Brain, and Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital, believes that issues such as theft, fraud, conflict, political instability, economic downturns, and environmental crises directly affect our quality of life and overall health.
© PhotoTalkFeldman said the brain's fundamental role is ensuring the body's survival. "Your brain coordinates everything that happens inside your body. It oversees more than 600 muscles, balances dozens of hormones, coordinates the lungs, heart, and other organs, pumps blood, digests food, fights disease, and much more. To accomplish this feat, your brain is constantly predicting and guessing what will happen next and what your body's systems need to do to prepare." She added, "Your brain is always guessing when to spend and save resources, adjusting its budget along the way. And, as every investor knows, uncertainty is one of the worst variables in a budget."
Watching the news while eating is a big no-no
In this study, the researcher observed alterations in brain activity patterns, particularly in the regions associated with the regulation of the autonomic nervous system, immune system, and metabolism—which are also implicated in the fight-or-flight response. This neural load had physiological ramifications, as evidenced by changes in heart rate, perspiration, and cortisol production, indicative of the body's preparatory response to perceived threat.
© Vincent BesnaultExposure to negative news can alter one's perception of reality and create a perpetual state of hypervigilance. This overexposure to information, mainly through social media and other sources, can lead to pervasive emotional exhaustion, regardless of one's circumstances. "Even if you manage to avoid your mood being affected by negative news, your experiences today sow your brain for what you will experience tomorrow. When you are inundated with negative news, the onslaught can shape your worldview, leading you to expect bad news and act accordingly. This process is gradual and subtle; you don't notice it, but it accumulates over time," she adds.
© Getty ImagesEating while exposed to negative news can lead to an increase in daily calorie intake by approximately 104 calories
Consuming negative news not only affects the nervous system but also has an impact on metabolism. "Uncertainty gives rise to an unpleasant state of physiological arousal, which most people, particularly in Western cultures, label as anxiety, illustrating a key principle of their constructed emotion theory," the expert said.
Adding that "being stressed in the two hours after a meal causes the brain and body to metabolize what you eat in a way that adds the equivalent of 104 calories to the meal. If this happens daily, that equals about half an extra kilo per month."
