Buzz
In a way. While boredom itself won't directly cause death, it does increase the likelihood of other circumstances leading to an early demise.
Take this into account: A survey conducted in the late 1980s asked over 7,500 London civil servants, aged 33 to 55, about their boredom levels at work over the previous month and how they perceived their health and physical activity. Approximately 7 percent admitted to being fairly bored, and about 2 percent felt significantly bored. Those with higher boredom levels also reported being less active and rated their health as poorer.
In 2009, long after the survey, two public health researchers analyzed the survey results along with data from the National Health Service’s registry to track which participants had passed away and which were still living. They discovered that individuals who experienced more boredom at work had a higher chance of dying, and were more than twice as likely to succumb to fatal cardiovascular diseases. (The link between boredom and higher mortality appeared to grow stronger with time. People who reported being bored multiple times were more likely to die than those who only mentioned it once.)
The researchers hypothesized that the link between boredom and death could stem from bored individuals feeling unfulfilled, unmotivated, and unhappy, leading them to adopt unhealthy habits like excessive drinking, smoking, overeating, and drug use. These behaviors, in turn, heighten the risks of stroke and heart disease. They suggested that boredom likely serves as a proxy for other risk factors.
Further studies have also tied boredom to increased risk-taking behaviors that could harm health. Public health experts in Baltimore discovered that bored drug users were more likely to report depression symptoms and engage in dangerous sexual and needle-sharing practices. Meanwhile, in the UK, a psychologist and civil engineer surveyed drivers and found that those who experienced greater boredom on the road were more prone to hazardous driving behaviors like speeding, tailgating, driving while fatigued, or daydreaming—sometimes to make the experience more thrilling.
Psychiatrist Katya Rubia discusses in Boredom: A Lively History how children with ADHD often engage in novelty-seeking and risk-taking behaviors as a form of 'self-medication' for their boredom. Similarly, psychologist Peter Suedfeld shared with mental_floss writer Maggie Koerth-Baker that 'people sometimes do reckless, foolish things when suffering from chronic boredom.' He cited how isolation at an Antarctic research station can push scientists to go on solo walks in freezing temperatures without proper clothing—sometimes in temperatures as low as 40 below.
