Stressing Over the Uncertain Can Be Good for You

Rebecca Lewis April 05, 2016

Fretting about the results of a job interview, the feedback of your boss, or an upcoming school exam may feel like a bad thing. But stressing over the uncertain can actually be good for your mental health, according to new research.

The stress the uncertain brings gives us a distinct performance advantage, according to the researchers from University College London. Their study involved 45 volunteers who were given a mild electric shock while they played a computer game in which their avatars had to go through a series of challenges.

Half of the volunteers knew they will be given electric shock. The other half which were told to guess whether or not there would be a snake under the rock as part of the video game. If there was, they would receive an electric shock on their hand. The researchers kept the uncertainty levels high among the people in this group throughout the task by changing the odds of a snake appearing.

Participants’ stress levels were measured, along with their pupil dilation and perspiration.

The findings revealed that people who were uncertain when they’d be shocked saw a significant increase in anxiety compared to those who knew whether or not to anticipate getting zapped. They also suggest that the higher anxiety levels actually helped the uncertain individuals, because it allowed them to better assess risk.

In the experiment, participants who had the most stress during a period of uncertainty in the game were better at judging whether or not a snake was under a rock. This suggests that the anxiety that stems from uncertainty may help us make a better decision in the long run and may offer “some survival benefit,” according to the researchers.

Uncertainty is part of life. While it may cause us stress, it does have an important role to play in many areas of our life. It helps us make the right decisions and prompt us to make adjustments to mitigate the effects of a situation.

Nonetheless, while stress can help us do better in times of adversity, it is important to remember that too much stress can lead to undesirable health outcomes.

“Appropriate stress responses might be useful for learning about uncertain, dangerous things in the environment,” according to Sven Bestmann, the senior author of the study.

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There’s A Silver Lining To Stress Over Uncertainty