Women's stress levels soar, in comparison to their male
counterparts, when absorbing disturbing news stories, according
to a new study published last Wednesday in the journal PLoS One.
"It's difficult to avoid the news, considering the multitude of
news sources out there," lead author Marie-France Marin, a PhD
candidate in neuroscience at the University of Montreal, said in
a press release. "And what if all that news was bad for us? It
certainly looks like that could be the case." Researchers looked
at 65 participants who were divided into four groups, asked to
read negative stories revolving around accidents and murders, or
neutral stories about film releases or park openings. The
subjects took saliva tests before and after reading the stories,
which showed levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.
The subjects were called in and asked about what they read the
day after the experiments. Women who read negative news showed
higher stress levels after intellect and memory experiments,
compared to women