Excessive alcohol, caffeine holding journalists back, but work makes them resilient, says study

Boston: Journalists' excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine leads their brains to function below par, but the love for their job protects their mental resilience, MIT scientists claim.

"Journalist's brains compared to other groups showed a lower level of executive functioning - the ability of the brain to regulate emotions, suppress bias, switch between tasks, solve complex problems and think flexibly and creatively," said Tara Swart, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.


Representational image. Reuters





Researchers also found that dehydration affected brain function, as less than five percent of journalists drank enough water.

However, the pressures of the job do not affect journalists' ability to endure and bounce back from adversities in the long term, researchers said.


Similar studies in groups of bankers, traders, telecom and sales executives show that they are less able to cope with pressure than journalist are.

"It's been great to see the role that meaning and purpose plays in achieving mental resilience. There is more that journalists can do to achieve peak performance - implementing a few really simple changes to help their brains perform even better," Swart said.

Updated Date: May 21, 2017 15:29:02 IST