Anxiety sufferers more prone to distraction

(HealthScout) UPDATED 2009-06-29

People who are anxious find it harder to tune out distractions and take longer to shift their attention from one task to another, British researchers report. In one test, researchers measured participants' eye movements as they read they read a story on a computer screen that had been embedded with "distracter" words. Investigators found that anxious people took longer to read the story because they dwelled on the irrelevant words, especially when they thought they would be tested on their reading comprehension. In another test, volunteers worked to solve simple multiplication and division problems, and anxious participants took longer to complete the task. Researchers say the studies showed that anxious people often perform at a level comparable to those who aren't anxious, but doing the tasks carries a greater cost for them in terms of effort and long-term stress. Read full story >

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