How do YOU use your computer mouse? This is what it says about your stress levels

You may think you’re hiding your stress at work, but a new study reveals how you use your computer mouse.

Researchers at Germany’s ETH Zurich found that stressed people make sudden, exaggerated blows with the device.

This is because increased stress levels negatively impact our motor skills and the brain’s ability to process information, ultimately causing us to frantically move the mouse, the scientists said.

The study also found that stressed people hit the keyboard, take a lot of breaks and make more typos, while relaxed people take fewer but longer breaks, resulting in fewer mistakes.

Lead study author Mara Nägelin, a mathematician at ETH Zurich, said in a rack: ‘People who are stressed move the mouse pointer more often and less precisely and move greater distances on the screen.

‘Relaxed people, on the other hand, take shorter, more direct routes to reach their destination and take more time.’

ZURICH worked with 90 participants who performed office tasks while wearing a heart monitoring device.

Some participants continued to work undisturbed, others participated in job interviews and were repeatedly interrupted by chat messages.

And the team recorded each person’s mouse and keyboard behavior.

“We were surprised that typing and mouse behavior was a better predictor of how stressed subjects felt better than heart rate,” Nägelin said.

While both men and women experience stress at work, a 2018 study found that elevated levels are more likely to kill men with heart problems.

Researchers at University College London found that men with heart problems are six times more likely to die early if they have a stressful job – even if they keep fit and eat a healthy diet.

This is because increased stress levels negatively impact our motor skills and the brain’s ability to process information, ultimately causing us to frantically move the mouse

Scientists suggest one explanation is that men are more prone to clogged arteries during their working lives than women, who generally have a much lower chance of having heart problems before menopause.

Lead researcher Professor Mika Kivimäki, from University College London, said: ‘Work is a common source of stress in adulthood, triggering natural stress responses that were programmed into our bodies generations ago.

‘These can lead to physical reactions to situations such as work stress.

‘Our findings show that there is a link between work pressure and the risk of premature death in men with cardiometabolic diseases, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

“It is unlikely that controlling blood pressure and cholesterol levels alone will eliminate the additional risk.”