American researchers from Northwestern University in Chicago found a connection between emotional communication with family and friends and increased stress on the cardiovascular system. The article was published in the scientific journal magazine Feeling.
Scientists focused on cardiovascular reactivity, which are changes in heart rate and blood pressure during stressful situations. This reaction is considered an important sign of long-term health consequences as it is associated with the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
Forty-nine married couples from Chicago participated in the study. In the laboratory, each couple participated in two types of videotaped conversations: one involving conflict and the other involving positive discussion. These conversations were preceded by a period during which the partners relaxed and did not engage in any conversation, and this became the starting point for the physiological measurements.
During these interactions, physiological parameters were continuously recorded for both partners, especially the time interval between heartbeats (an indicator of cardiovascular reactivity). Additionally, the conversations were transcribed and the language of the speech was analyzed. The focus was on measuring the frequency and variety of spoken words expressing both negative and positive emotions.
The results showed that the more words used to express negative emotions during communication, the stronger the cardiovascular reactivity. The most destructive emotion for the heart was anger.
At the same time, negative emotions negatively affected the functioning of the heart both in conflict situations and in situations where the couple was not quarreling. The effect was equally evident in both women and men.
While the researchers found compelling evidence of a link between emotional speech and changes in heart rate, they noted that the opposite relationship is also possible; The faster our heart beats, the more negative and angry our language becomes.
Previous scientists I learnedgrammatical errors in speech disrupt heart rate.