Why People Who Feel This Emotion Right Before Bed Are Smarter, According To Research
Worrying has a cognitive upside.
Kevin Wiley | Pexels "Stop worrying!" I think my mom has said that at least twice in every conversation we've ever had. I've always been a worrier. I've even worried over the fact that I'm a worrier. I'd say it's gotten better over time as I've found better stress-relief techniques (sup, spinning?), but I'm still one to overthink.
Sometimes it's irrational, like OMG, but what if the stove magically turned itself back on after I turned it off and left the apartment? And other times, rehashing past events keeps me up at night.
- Was I too nervous about that interview?
- Did I have enough fun on that vacation?
- Did I take that guy for granted?
- Was I ruminating or driven by anxiety?
One study in Current Psychology "examined the relations among rumination, emotional intelligence, and anxiety [the results] indicated that when participants reported a low level of emotional intelligence, those with higher rumination reported greater anxiety. However, the impact of rumination on anxiety was not significant in the group with high emotional intelligence. The foremost finding of this study is that emotional intelligence could serve as a protective factor in the path from rumination to anxiety."
I know it's silly to stress about the past or the things that haven't happened yet (and maybe even won't) but sometimes I'll justify it by saying it keeps me on my toes — it makes me focused, perceptive, trying to improve. I'd rather be someone who cares too much about things — even if one of those things is preventing my apartment from burning down. Isn't it better to care than not?
It turns out that people who worry right before bed are smarter, according to research.
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According to a study in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences, anxiety and worry can be a sign of certain intelligence.
After researchers gave 126 undergrads surveys to measure both their intelligence and how much they stressed over events in their lives, they found a link between worrying and verbal intelligence.
On the other hand, they also found that the more respondents replayed past events in their minds, the lower they ranked on non-verbal intelligence. OK, so it looks like you're not a complete genius from all your fretting.
Why's that? According to lead researcher, Alexander Penney, people who are verbally intelligent fixate on past and future events in greater detail, leading to more intense dwelling, while non-verbally intelligent people are better at processing what happened in the moment, so they don't need to re-think events in their heads after.
Worrying also impacts memory, another study from the Journal of Cognition and Emotion, "investigated the relationships between anxiety, working memory, and intelligence, and showed that the negative impact of anxiety on working memory functioning diminishes with increasing intelligence. So there you have it, fellow worrywarts.
If you were worried about all your worrying, be assured that there is a cognitive benefit.
Michelle Toglia is the Executive Editor at Elite Daily, overseeing the site's entertainment, news, style, dating, and experiences coverage.