Surprising Health Benefits of Being an Introvert

Introverts are usually born the way they are. However, our upbringing and childhood experiences like teasing or bullying or being forced to be like others can lead to social anxiety and make us find peace in solitude. But not all introverts are similar. We are all different people and we all behave in a specific way even though we share some similar characteristic traits.

In a world where extroverts are celebrated and rewarded, being an introvert may seem like a disadvantage. Extroverts get all the attention, opportunities and fun. Extroverts become popular and are good at pleasing people which provides them better opportunities to succeed in life. Meanwhile, as an introvert you may get ignored and your effort and work may go unnoticed.

But don’t be disheartened. Just because you are an introvert, it doesn’t mean you can’t be successful cause you prefer solitude over noise. In fact, there are many benefits of being an introvert. There are many successful introverts who are more popular and loved than extroverts like –

Barack Obama

Emma Watson

Angelina Jolie

Johnny Depp

Steven Spielberg

Mark Zuckerberg

Bill Gates

J. K Rowling,

Elon Musk

Leonardo DiCaprio

Albert Einstein

Here are some signs that you are an introvert:

• Introverts prefer spending their time alone instead of going out with friends or being actively social.
• Introverts are usually very creative and enjoy doing solitary activities like writing, painting, reading, gardening etc.
• Introverts prefer spending their time with their small circle of close friends than going to a crazy party.
• Introverts are at their best when they are working alone.
• Introverts do not like needless social interactions and hate small talk with people.
• Introverts prefer intimate, one-on-one interactions than interacting with loud crowds.
• Introverts closely observe their surroundings and process information effectively to their advantage.
• Introverts can accurately read facial expressions and body language of other people.
• Introverts never seek approval or validation from others as they are self-reliant and have a strong belief in their abilities.
• Introverts are calculative speakers as they carefully think before expressing their opinions.
• Introverts value ‘alone time’ the most as it essential for their survival for their soul, like water and oxygen for their body.

Introversion is not a disease

“DON’T THINK OF INTROVERSION AS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE CURED. SPEND YOUR FREE TIME THE WAY YOU LIKE, NOT THE WAY YOU THINK YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO.” – SUSAN CAIN

Surprising Health Benefits of Being an Introvert are as follows:

1) You Have a Lower Risk Of Obesity

Yep, according to studies, this is because introverts are much more likely than extroverts to rely on internal cues, which can help prevent overeating, versus external cues. For example, researchers at the Cornell Food and Brand Lab found that when children were asked to serve themselves cereal in a large breakfast bowl, extroverts gave themselves 33 percent more than introverts because they tuned in to an external cue (the bowl size) versus an internal one (like how hungry they actually were).

2) You Also Probably Get More Sleep

Another reason it pays to cherish downtime. Since extroverts tend to be social butterflies, they're much more likely to experience sleep deprivation, according to a study published in the scientific journal SLEEP. But this is less about the frequency of going out and more about personality traits. Case in point: Apparently, the same brain regions that make extroverts so alert are the ones that cause them to exhibit signs of fatigue the next day. Introverts, on the other hand, are immune to this because they already have a high level of activity (aka cortical arousal) going on in these parts of the brain-social situation or not.

3) You're More Tuned Into Your Senses

Remember what we said about cortical arousal? It's this high level of brain activity that makes introverts hyper-sensitive to outside stimuli like sights and sounds (and probably why they tend to feel overwhelmed in social situations). But being extra tuned in to your senses can be a good thing, too. It means you know exactly what to do-and where to go-to hear yourself think. For example, the yoga class that sparks creativity, according to studies.

Related: The Surprising Benefits of Being an Introvert