A little lie here and there in your usual day sounds normal, right? “I am on my way”, “No, I never drink or smoke”, “tomorrow I will be out of station”, and so on. Many circumstances in our lives put us in condition to dribble a white lie and go away.
But the way easy it seems to come out of your mouth is not that easy for the brain to adjust with a lie. Even the whole body, the peristaltic movement of the organs and the nervous system take a toll on it every time you say something that does not exist, a lie. So, how telling a lie can be injurious to health? Let’s dig a little dipper into it.
- Lying Affects the Hormonal Balance: Lying seems to be a very quick action but it actually involves three phases; planning, speaking and establishing the untruth. This keeps our body in a state of stress and anxiety which results in the secretion of cortisol and norepinephrine. The blood sugar level rises and the nervous system gives a command for “fight or flight” action. These hormones also increase our heart rate and blood pressure. Frequent lying can have a lasting adverse effect on our body.
- Effect of Lying on the Brain: Brain works at its own pace until knocked for some emergency call to action. In case of untruthful statement, the brain takes time to correlate between what it knows and what has been said. The brain knows that this is a lie. This keeps the brain in a confused state affecting its decision making and problem-solving skills.
- Insomnia and Chronic Anxiety: Serious and frequent lies continue the circulation of stress hormone in the body. It’s a kind of toxin existing in the body which gradually leads to chronic anxiety. People with anxiety symptoms are not able to sleep well at nights. So, one more health hazard in the form on insomnia enters the life to ruin it further.
- Reduces Immunity and Memory: Cortisol which is a stress hormone also diminishes the immunity of our body making us prone to catch cough, cold, and seasonal allergies. The unproductive engagement of brain makes it lose its memory power as well.
Say Bye to Lying!
Lying should not be encouraged in any case. From our cultural values to mythology and health, we do not find any good that a lie can do to us. In fact, it becomes a habit, making us lose our faith, respect, and health altogether. If you are scared of anything or anyone, then seek someone’s help, ask for a support, but don’t tell a lie. And if you lie just for fun, then it’s a big NO-NO.
Many times, it has been found that people or small children just lie for no reason and they are not able to control themselves. In such cases, it can be the result of some underlying psychological issue. Seek the help of a psychologist to get rid of this unhealthy habit.
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