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We're getting stressed just looking at this.
Honking cars, creaking buses, loitering kids, slow-walking tourists -- living in a city can be the worst. Now, a new study shows that native city dwellers -- as in, those who were raised in urban areas -- react more strongly to stress than their country-living peers, the Associated Press reports. More specifically (and somewhat hilariously), city folks appear to react more strongly to stress caused by other people.
The study, done by scientists at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, was just published in the journal Nature. Here are the basics of what the researchers did: Thirty-two volunteers were put in brain scanners, where they were instructed to solve some tough math problems -- so tough, that they bungled the answers for most of them. The erroneous answers were met with criticism from the researchers, who even went so far as to wonder aloud whether each volunteer was really cut out for a study like this. (All of this was done while the participants were still in the scanner.)
In people from the largest cities, researchers found that the amygdala -- the piece of the brain that processes emotions -- lit up with activity when the researchers chastised them. (Here, a big city was defined as one with a population of 100,000 or larger.) They couldn't say exactly why criticism fueled stronger brain reactions, but they figured it could be because of previous exposure to stress caused by other humans.
Native city dwellers, do you think you're more easily stressed than most? What about those of you from rural areas -- does it take a lot to stress you out?
Follow msnbc.com health writer Melissa Dahl on Twitter.
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Up next: breathing water may result in drowning. And at 11:00, sun rumored to rise in East tomorrow morning.
So, you would have guessed that people who were raised in cities were least adapted to living in cities?
Amazing!
Ben, that is not what the article states. City dwellers are least equipped to cope with stressful situations. If you've ever been to NYC, DC, LA, for instance, you'd know that.
I was born and raised in Queens, New York and lived there for 32 years before relocating here to St. Cloud, Minnesota. I've lived here for 25 years. When I went back to visit my parents and sister in 1987, about a year after I first moved, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. I still navigated my way through the subway with ease, actually enjoyed walking along 5th avenue at lunch hour, zig-zagging my way through the lunchtime crowd, etc. I returned to MN. after a week long visit. Then, in 1992 I went to NYC again, for the same reasons, visiting, a little Christmas shopping, etc. I couldn't believe how stressful it seemed. It was almost as if it were my first visit there. This was my hometown; born and raised and living there for 32 years, but after being way for only 6 years and then returning, I noticed a huge difference. These days, at 57 years old, I prefer conditions here in St. Cloud. I don't miss the stress at all. I never realized it until I had been away from it and then returned. However, in my heart, I STILL LOVE NEW YORK!
NFIL, that is what the article states, since cities are a more environment, therefore
"City dwellers are least equipped to cope with stressful situations" = "people who were raised in cities were least adapted to living in cities"
Who paid for THIS study? The Institute for the Preservation of the Obvious? What next, dropping a 50 lb. weight on your big toe can lead to pain?
Don't know who did the study, who paid for it, or what the purpose of it was. I'll bet it was done in some university by some graduate students from money that came through a federal grant.
Well said saviour,,,I'd bet most of the comments come from the 15 floor lol
Like you two twits had anything worthwhile to contribute.
@saviour, granted sandy should have took the time to read the whole article before commenting,but calling them stupid to make yourself feel better adds nothing also. now I know the stress of living in your moms' basement can be hard on you, but buck up buckaroo you'll be able to shop in the adult section soon.
the study was German not American - thought Germans were smarter that this, must have been run by an american expat.
I really don't care who wrote it. It really doesn't matter.
Its the content.
Its just plain stupid.
Dear Ms. Dahl (the author),
I read the original Nature article, and I'm afraid you have not done justice to the findings of the original paper. Here are a few clarification points:
(a) The amygdala only lit up as a result of the scientists' negative feedback on the volunteer's performance. It's not that the volunteers got more stressed by the difficulty of the task at hand. Rather, they reacted to more strongly to the OTHER PERSON'S negative response.
(b) The authors of the Nature study highlight that the amygdala is related specifically to our perception of threat and to our perception of a negative result. When we experience a negative result, our brains basically say, "Don't do that again". As I said in (a), this ONLY happened as a result of the feedback from the authors of the study.
(c) The results showed that people who EVER lived in a big city, had a stronger response. So that includes someone born in New York, but who moved to Oklahoma when they were 10 years old. The increased response to social stress, not task stress, stuck with that person even if they haven't been in a city for YEARS.
(d) This study might perhaps explain why there's more violence in cities and more depression, both of which are also linked to the amygdala. In THAT light, the fact that the amygdala didn't light up during the math test itself, but only strongly lit up after the volunteer was criticized, that fact is actually pretty important.
Particularly at the moment, there's a lot of public discontentment about scientific studies that receive government funding. People think the studies are useless. The two people with comments above me clearly feel this way. As a result, I feel you have done science a real disservice by improperly communicating how important these findings are. You've reinforced the scientific-studies-are-malarkey crowd, when this study could have some really important results in terms of understanding the psychology of city crime, gangs, socio-economic gaps, and what to do about these urban problems.
Thank you for your attention.
"(d) This study might perhaps explain why there's more violence in cities and more depression, both of which are also linked to the amygdala. In THAT light, the fact that the amygdala didn't light up during the math test itself, but only strongly lit up after the volunteer was criticized, that fact is actually pretty important."
There might be more depression in cities just because there is more people there! It might be the same percentage...but I have to say small towns are conservative, so less people in those communities might not report or accept they have depression because it makes them appear weak. I know, I lived there! If anyone had a mental problem, it was really against mores of the community.
Thanks for the comment. I'll be cracking open my copy of nature to /read/ the article. Here's a link for everyone on the issue of scientific communication:
http://blogs.nature.com/soapbox_science/2011/06/15/making-science-make-sense?WT.mc_id=FBK_NPG
Journalists are trained to be journalists first, and rarely seem to need scientific training, especially in the discipline in question. That and editor deadlines.
Amen, mkchicken. For the entire 32 years I was living in Queens, all seemed normal; it was just part of living there. But after being "removed" from those conditions for 6 years, I reacted strongly to being in the middle of it all.
I grew up in rural Kentucky and moved to Philadelphia. Yep, I think this study has it about right, which is why the average city dweller is a miserable, hateful troll with no patience at all.
Well said... he he he
And we needed a 'study' to tell us this. Whatta ya nutz or sumthin', pal? Get outta my face! Long, long ago it was determined that animals penned-up in too small a space would get crazed, and that's all we mammals really needed to know.
Where do I sign up to start a study and get paid large amounts?
And we needed a 'study' to tell us this. Whatta ya nutz or sumthin', pal? Get outta my face! Long, long ago it was determined that animals penned-up in too small a space would get crazed, and that's all we mammals really needed to know.
Where do I sign up to start a study and get paid large amounts?
I grew up in a small town, pop. 250. After school I took engineering jobs in Virginia and California. I've been on BP meds for at least 10 years. When I went home, I took my mom to the county health clinic and they took my BP too. It was really low compared to when I'm back in California. Big difference between the country and the city.
Give me a Bear, to run from rather than a mugger any day.
I've lived high in the very rural Cascade Mountains of Washington (complete with bears and cougars) and in Denver and Phoenix. Total number of bears, cougars, mountain lions, bobcats, Elk I've had to stay inside because of: Dozens.
Total number of muggers I've encountered: 0
Brad, you must be living in the high rent district. I grew up in one of the largest cities in America & recently moved to a rural area in midwest. In the city, I encountered muggers, crack dealers, crack heads, rapists, pimps, hookers & just about everyone else that was out to do criminal activity. And don't even get me started about the traffic & horrible drivers! But out here in the country, although there are some bears, mountain lions, coyotes, some wolves, and plenty of smaller & sometimes challenging critters (possums, raccoons, etc.) there hasn't been any time at all that I wasn't at peace out here in the boonies. And the traffic: three cars at the stop sign in town is a traffic jam around these parts! I'll take country life over city living any day!
Some social engineers dream of a world where people are concentrated in cities and rural areas are left unpopulated. If information from this study helps to discourage that idea, then great!
Paranoid much?
the suburbs were an experiment in housing/community developement that was started in the 1940s and that has failed miserably. unfortunately living in massive mega cities is going to be the ONLY way we can survive and substain the world population. land that was once used for agriculture,that is now used as suburban neighborhoods, must be restored back to farmlands. me and my family live in a very rural part of NORCAL,and they are begining to teach this in the classrooms even now,thank goodness.
It's a real bummer when cynical people don't understand that these studies are done not to prove the obvious, but to understand how the brain works, and what factors may last a lifetime. The outcome of this study may be amusing or irritating, but it continues to add to our understanding of human health and illness.
Rather than taking drugs for every ail, it would be nice to develop preventative strategies to reduce the incidence of mental health concerns, early in their development.
More Government Waste no wonder we are broke. Lets vote out everyone in Congress and start over
How enlightening ! Duh ... This is right up there with studies that show that smoking could be dangerous to your health, water runs downhill and sh*t always stinks. Life in the twenty first century is stressfull no matter where one lives ... even if you were a simple native in Bora Bora ... and only ends when you die. Case closed.
Peace to all.
32 people is not enough.
Almost a hundred years ago, the Japanese discovered that if you crowd monkeys together in a zoo, they will begin fighting almost as soon as they figure out they have no place to run. Same with people and cities. Not news, and pretty obvious.
I left Los Angeles, California 3 years ago, and moved to a town of about 1,200 residents in the midwest. Miss the beach and my friends, but not the crime, traffic, smog, graffiti, car alarms, car horns, The 101 and The 405 traffic, the DMV, property taxes and stress level. Made many adjustments (no places open at midnight for great food) but can say I am truly happy with the change.
I have to stay I was raised in the country and found it stressful. More so than in a city. If you live in a small town, everyone knows what you are doing. If you don't fit the "norms" of the city, then you are teased or maybe you get attacked or worse. This not fitting in thing can be being a different religion, race, sexual orientation or even dressing or just acting different than the ultra-conservative people around you.
In contrast, I like the anonymous nature of a city, where I can dress and act how I want to and the apathy of people not to react to me is nice. Sure, it is noisy here, but at least I don't have strangers come up to me and make fun of me to my face for no other reason than to be rude. But, it is also expensive to be in a city, yet at the same time, you can walk to most places where I live and not need a car or even run a heater or AC that much...maybe it all evens out then?
Ditto! Thank you, Lily. Finally someone I can relate to. I grew up in a small town in the rural Midwest and subsequently lived for short periods in London, SF Bay Area, LA and in various cities in Europe. Want to guess where I witnessed or encountered the scariest people or most dangerous situations in my life? Yup, in the small Midwestern rural town. That's where I was nearly raped, witnessed other "good" kids snorting coke or doing meth/heroin and where I was propositioned for group sex on more than one occasion. And other kids would beat you up just for "looking funny". (I was a pretty average honor roll student) Oh yeah, and that's where I was at my lowest income level as well. It was all pretty stressful I'd say. Country living isn't all rainbows and unicorns.
Having to move to a "small town" from a place like New York at the age of 13, I was picked for "being different" from my last name to the clothes I wore to where I was from of course. Since I didn't talk to anybody and was a "big city" it was automatically assumed I was a snob when in fact, I was in a place faraway from all my friends, lonely and I WAS different, very different. I was in school about 3 days and all I'd hearsdwas other kids whispering when I walked by was" There's that girl from NY. Why would they move HERE anyway?" These kids picked on me horribly.
i was born and raised in california. i have a friend who was born in a small city in colorado and returned there when he retired. my wife and i visited every summer, so we decided to buy a condo there so we would have a place to stay when we visited. in 2005 i had had enough of the thug wannabes and the graffiti and the exreme road rage that i and most californians had. i moved to the little city and it took about a year to mello out, but now i am stress free and will stay here the rest of my life. my wife and visit our kids at least twice a year and when they come, they can't believe how beautiful it is and how much better the air is
So tell me something new about the human condition for survival in overcrowding environments.
These results are a repeat of the same studies done 20 yrs ago on test rats and their behavior in crowded cages. Reality. they are in a fight or flight state of awareness 24 hrs, 7 days a week.
Why do you think the majority of people leave the city for the countryside or a destination.
Who are these ninny's spending all this money on these studies. Id be ashamed to have my name attached to this article.
I bet its the Obama crew.
Duuuuh
Who is the ninny, Andrew, the researchers who decide to test humans in something previously only researched in rats, that might ultimately help us understand urban crime rates, or the commenter who doesn't bother to notice that this study was done in Germany, not in America. If you'd read the previous comments, even, you would have found that out.
But hey, Andrew, don't let reality get in the way...
I'm not from New York but in the six months I lived there, I felt like everyone felt the need to compete, whether it be in traffic to get somewhere faster or to get better service than everyone else or to get more attention. I think when you grow up in a more densely populated area, you have to compete for everything you get. I think that's what the emotional reaction is... they feel like they're falling behind other people, and the people from rural areas are more relaxed and don't care as much.
Trust me, living in a rural area is very stressful. Yoga, meditation, and the like are treated like a foreign thing. Cowboys, chewing tobacco, rodeos, drinking that is what the rural life is. If you read poetry and run, exercise, don't eat beef, and try to do city things, they think you are odd and spoiled. If you are from another race, look out. Only blonde women are held in high esteem.
Not all rural places are full of hicks. I grew up in rural New England and far more people I knew growing up were into poetry & yoga than rodeos & chewing tobacco. It *WAS* overwhelmingly white, however. The "diversity" in my high school consisted of 2 African-Americans, 2 Mormons, and 1 Jew.
I was forced at a young age to move from home of Flushing New York to a "small town" in WI of 2,500 people and to this day, I still miss New York. As soon as I was able, I moved to a the closest "urban area" and away from that crummy armpit of a town where if someone farted they were still talking about it a week later. Diversity, things are close, more to do and nobody is sticking their nose in your business everytime you turn around and much less narrow mindeness. !!! City for ME!!!!
I could have told you all of this. I live in a small town of about 3000. Zero stress and I can see the stars at night.
I'm sorry, but, let's remove the word "STRESS" from the aforementioned article and get a refund.
Tell this to the moron politicians that think we should all live mashed shoulder to shoulder in cities where we can all link arms every morning and sing "We are the World".