The latest studies indicate that news affects us incredibly and can shape us in various ways, from our awareness of the risks to the content of our dreams, with a possibility to our chances of having a heart attack.
Negative news has the ability to raise a person’s heart rate, and there are worrying signs that it may have more serious effects on our health in the long run.
News coverage is much more than a benign fact. From our attitudes toward immigrants to the content of our dreams, strange thoughts can infiltrate the subconscious and interfere in our lives in amazing ways. It could lead us to underestimate some of the risks, shape our views on foreign countries, and possibly influence the health of entire economies.
Continued exposure to negative news can increase your risk of post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression. And now there is emerging evidence that the emotional implications of news coverage, can even affect our physical health. This increases our chances of having a heart attack or developing health problems, within years.
Crucially, a few hours, every day, can have an impact far beyond what we might expect.
Since the first hints of a mysterious new virus began last year, television news has seen record-breaking numbers, with millions following daily government briefings and updates on the latest deaths, closure rules and other related materials. Researchers say the news inadvertently distorted our perception of reality. Here is growing evidence that news may even sneak into our dreams.
Amidst the current global closures, there are a large number of people, who report unusually frightening dreams. One explanation is that these "epidemic dreams" are the product of our wild imagination, with millions of people largely cut off from the outside world. Another is that we remember our dreams better than we usually imagine, and because we wake up anxiously in the middle of sleep, the stage in which they occur.
After months of headlines on the "Covid 19" virus, there are signs of an imminent crisis of coronary anxiety. Mental health centers around the world report unprecedented levels of cases, while many people take "leave from social media" in an effort to limit their exposure to the news.
While some of this pressure may be due to the new reality, which we all find ourselves facing, psychologists have known for years that the news itself can add an extra dose of toxicity. This is especially evident after the crisis. After the 2014 Ebola crisis, the September 11 attacks, the 2001 anthrax attacks, and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, for example, the more news coverage a person has, the more likely he is to have symptoms such as stress, anxiety, and PTSD.
So the next time you find yourself checking out the headlines for the 100th time, that day, or eagerly browsing through your social media feed, remember: the news may affect you more than you expected.