If you’re a straight shooter in your personal life, it may be benefiting your health, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame that suggests honest people are healthier both physically and mentally than those who fudge the truth.
According to previous research, Americans tell an average of 11 lies each week. To test how this was affecting our nation’s health, researchers issued 110 participants (ages 18-71) a lie detector test as well as a health and relationship measure to assess the number of lies they told in a week.
As reported by USA Today, half of the participants were asked to “refrain from telling any lies for any reason to anyone.” Participants were, however, permitted to omit truths, refuse to answer questions, and keep secrets. But they couldn’t say anything that they knew to be false. The other half of the group was given no such instructions.
At the end of the 10-week study, researchers found that the link between less lying and improved health was much stronger for those in the “no-lie” group. Furthermore, when those in this group told three fewer ‘minor lies‘ than in other weeks, they experienced an average of four fewer mental-health complaints and three fewer physical ailments as a result; mental complaints defined as ‘feeling tense or melancholy,’ and physical complaints including ‘sore throats and headaches.’ (more…)
