Research on how lying affects health is scant, but lying is thought to trigger the release of stress hormones, increasing heart rate and blood pressure.
Lying can trigger an increased heart rate, high blood pressure and elevated levels of stress hormones in the blood, psychologists have found. Over time, that can take a significant toll on mental and physical health.
Lying can be cognitively depleting, it can increase the risk that people will be punished, it can threaten people's self-worth by preventing them from seeing themselves as “good” people, and it can generally erode trust in society.
When we engage in deceit, our respiratory and heart rates increase, we start to sweat, our mouth goes dry, and our voice can shake. Some of these physiological effects form the basis of the classic lie-detector (polygraph) test.
For most people, their sleeping heart rate will fall to the lower end of the normal resting heart rate range of 60–100 bpm. In deep sleep, the heart rate may fall below 60 bpm , especially in people who have very low heart rates while awake.
Patients may ask, "Why does my heart beat fast when I lay down?" Most often palpitations are caused by the change in position of the body. When you lay down you compress the stomach and chest cavity together, putting pressure on the heart and blood flow and increasing circulation.
Some people get heart palpitations when lying down because of the position in which they sleep. Sleeping hunched over on your side can increase pressure inside your body, causing palpitations. Many other common causes of heart palpitations include: Anxiety, stress and depression.
Over a long period, deception can eat away at our self-esteem. Ordinary guilt that could be reversed with honesty now becomes shame and undermines our fundamental sense of dignity and worthiness as a person. The gap between the self we show others and how we feel inside widens.
Itching and fidgeting: Rocking the body back and forth, cocking the head to the side or shuffling the feet can also be signs of deception, says Glass, who completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA focusing on Psychology and Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication.
A habitual liar may feel extreme stress from keeping track of their falsehoods. They may struggle to live up to their own claims. If their lies are exposed, their relationships will likely grow strained. In some cases, they may face legal consequences.
The Effects of Dishonesty
Even when somebody has good intentions for not being honest, the act of deceit can lead to a decreased sense of trust. Not only can this cause relationship difficulties, but in some situations dishonesty may also lead to a tarnished reputation, career issues, and other social difficulties.
Guilt is most likely when the liar shares values and respects the target of the lie. It is much harder to lie or cheat someone who has acted fairly. But if the wages are too low, the spouse cold and inconsiderate, the parent too strict – the liar may feel entitled to cheat, and feel no guilt about doing so.
Sometimes, a person cannot apologize for a lie. It is possible to forgive without a conversation or apology, but this is often more difficult because you may have to go through this process alone without the other person. It may be advisable to work with a counselor, religious leader, or psychologist to help.
Pathological lying is a symptom of various personality disorders, including antisocial, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders. Other conditions, such as borderline personality disorder, may also lead to frequent lies, but the lies themselves are not considered pathological.
A review of studies on the perception of speech cues to lying delineates a stereotypical image of a liar. Listeners expect liars to speak more slowly, pause longer, and speak with a higher pitched voice.
The main reason people lie is low self-esteem. They want to impress, please, and tell someone what they think they want to hear. For example, insecure teenagers often lie to gain social acceptance. Here, parents should emphasize to their children the consequences of lying.
Every relationship is built on mutual trust, whether that relationship it is romantic or not. Lying quickly erodes that trust, hurting both parties in the process. Whether it is keeping secrets or telling a little white lie, lying destroys one of the fundamental pillars of a healthy relationship — trust.
Keeping secrets results in lack of intimacy, and in turn results in breakdown of communication. The worst situation in a relationship is when it becomes a habit of a partner to lie. The partner, who constantly fibs, becomes entangled in his own tale of lies, and the other does not know what to believe in.
Lying Changes the Brain
Nature Neuroscience reported a study of the amygdala, the part of the brain dealing with emotional responses. The researchers said the amygdala shows up less and less, as we lie more and more. Essentially, our guilt feelings tend to weaken and shrink.
Your heart rate fluctuates throughout the day, based on activity levels and emotions. Stress and exercise can raise heart rate, while sleeping can lower it. A normal heart rate while sleeping is often between 40 to 50 beats per minute (bpm), though there is variability between individuals.
Guilt, Fishkin says, is associated with activity in the prefrontal cortex, the logical-thinking part of the brain. Guilt can also trigger activity in the limbic system. (That's why it can feel so anxiety-provoking.)