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Boredom Triggers High Stress Response in Impulsive People: New Study
October 22, 2024Boredom causes a heightened stress response in impulsive people, as evidenced by the elevated cortisol levels documented in new research published in Physiology & Behavior.1 The research deepens the scientific community’s understanding of the interplay between impulsivity and boredom, suggesting that this relationship may be mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.“This research suggests that the lived experience of boredom feels more intense and aversive for people who are highly impulsive, transforming into an overwhelming need to escape that boredom,” explained Matt Parker, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and a neuroscientist at the University of Surrey.The research comprised two studies. The first, in which participants completed a dull task and self-reported levels of boredom, confirmed previous findings that individuals who identify as impulsive are more prone to boredom than are others.