If, like us, you’re currently sat there with heart palpitations while looking at your bank balance, you're not alone. Science has only gone and proved that there’s a link between financial stress and real life physical discomfort. So that pulsing, fast heart beating you’ve got going on right now from being penniless is normal (kind of).
A series of studies were conducted by Medical Daily at the University of Virginia around financial worries and woes. It found people were more likely to experience physical pain in situations that involved financial stress. Like realising you spent all your paycheck in one weekend or spending £29.50 in Boots when you only went in for a meal deal, the kind of stresses we're all familiar with.
The data, which was collected from 33,720 US homes, showed that in households where both adults were unemployed, around 20 percent more of their cash was spent on painkillers than in homes where only one adult was out of work.
The next test was done via an online survery, which examined 187 economically insecure individuals, who apparently reported more physical pain during times of distress and discomfort. This lead into an online survery which had participants cast their minds back to a period of economic stress and a period of stable finical income. The results showed that the individuals felt more physical pain during the unstable periods, so essentially those with financial insecurities were more susceptible to pain. Great. Just bloody great.
Leader researcher, Eileen Chou, from the University of Virginia said: 'Results from six studies establish that economic insecurity produces physical pain, reduces pain tolerance, and predicts over-the-counter painkiller consumption.'
So, in other words, not only are we all screwed and will never be able to buy a house as we’re spending too much on rent, but we’re also all going to be complaining about back ache until we retire – which might never happen at this rate. Fantastic.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.