Why a little stress is healthy

Do you feel as comfortable as usual during your alcohol break, or do you experience some stress now and then? Don't worry, a little stress from time to time is healthy. Researchers at the University of Georgia in the United States have discovered that a mild form of stress actually makes people resilient. Another reason to keep up your alcohol break: you come out stronger! 

For the study, the results of which were published last summer in the scientific journal Psychiatry Research, more than 1,200 subjects answered questions about stress and their mental well-being. The results of the study were surprising. It turned out that people who experienced almost no stress had more psychological complaints than people who did suffer from a certain degree of stress at times in their daily lives.

A little stress makes you mentally stronger

The researchers discovered that a certain amount of stress helps to build up a better mental resistance. For example, a little stress from time to time reduces the chance of developing psychological complaints. Experiencing some stress from time to time also helps you deal better with setbacks. A little stress makes you more resourceful and mentally flexible.

Not too much stress

As a significant caveat to the study, the researchers did state that the line between a healthy stress level and an excessively high stress level is unfortunately not always clear. An excessively high stress level actually causes more psychological complaints. The lead of the study, Professor Assaf Oshi, compared building mental resistance to developing calluses on the hands through hard work. “You stimulate the skin to adapt to the circumstances. But if you push the skin too much, you get blisters.” The moral of this story: do you occasionally experience a moment of stress during Dry January? Try to see the difficult moments as pure mental growth!