According to a 2024 study from Harvard Medical School, anger affects more than your mood: It can also shorten your life. The researchers analyzed data from nine studies that looked at the link between anger and cardiovascular disease. They found that people had five times the risk of a heart attack within two hours of an angry outburst, and three times the risk of a stroke. (Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 killers of Americans.)
The risk was even higher for people who got angry frequently: The more frequent the anger, the higher the risk. The risk was also higher for people with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
The increased risk may be from the effects of stress, the authors wrote in the European Heart Journal. Stress tightens arteries, increasing heart rate and blood pressure and cutting down on blood flow. The reduced blood flow can cause blood clots and increase inflammation, two triggers for heart attack and stroke.
In fact, another 2024 study—from researchers at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association— found that anger directly limits the ability of blood vessels to widen, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The conclusion of the researchers from Columbia: Managing anger for people who are frequently angry is important.
Even when it’s not deadly, frequent, unmanaged anger can damage your health, increasing your risk for:
- Diabetes
- Digestive problems
- Poor sleep
- Headaches and other types of chronic pain
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Weakened immune system
- Damaged relationships with family, friends, and coworkers
- Making poor decisions
- Engaging in risky behaviors
- Physical harm, to others and yourself
- Involvement with the criminal justice system
You don’t have to be a victim of your own anger. You can manage episodes of anger, improving your ability to communicate and work out problems. Here are five proven strategies for how to control anger.
#1: Manage your lifestyle
When you think about the causes of your anger, you probably don’t think of lifestyle factors. But lifestyle changes are a good first step toward reducing your anger. For example:
Cut down on processed foods and refined carbohydrates. People who eat a lot of processed foods, white sugar, and white flour are more likely to experience anger than people who consume large amounts of fruits, leafy greens, and beans. That’s because consuming foods high in refined sugars and carbs can lead to a rapid spike and fall in blood sugar, causing mood swings, and increasing irritability and anger. Feeling hungry (low blood sugar) and angry is so common it has a name: Hangry.
Monitor your intake of alcohol. Some folks who drink to excess become argumentative and even aggressive. If it seems to you that your drinking habits are leading to angry interactions with others, take steps to bring your alcohol use under control.
Get a good night’s sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of problems—and general irritability is one. Research links poor or inadequate sleep to anger and aggression. Studies also show that sleep problems can play a role in intimate partner violence, bullying at school, cyberbullying, and violence committed in psychiatric hospitals. For a better night’s sleep, practice good sleep hygiene. Go to sleep and wake up at about the same time every day. Don’t eat a big meal right before bedtime, and don’t consume caffeine too close to bedtime. Keep your bedroom cool, between 68 and 72 degree F.
#2: Sidestep provocations
People with anger issues tend to feel they have to confront every injustice and right every wrong. But ask yourself: Is this confrontation really necessary? If you consider your anger reactions thoughtfully, you’ll realize that, in many situations, there’s little benefit to immediately confronting the person or event that has triggered your anger.
If you’re in a coffee shop and someone is having a loud video call with a friend—move to another seat in the shop. If there’s a colleague at work you don’t like—don’t talk to that person. Get off the autopilot of confronting everything and everyone, and learn to navigate around the provocations that trigger your anger.
#3: Change the way you think about your life
Why are you so angry all the time? For many of us, anger is often based on the belief that others should behave in a certain way that aligns with your expectations and demands, a mindset psychologists call “demandingness.” Demandingness is reflected in words and phrases you say to yourself like “they must,” “you should,” “he ought to,” and “she has to.”
It’s true, of course, that some things in this world really must happen, like breathing and sleeping. But must your boss appreciate your hard work? Must your husband do what you ask? Must your children listen to your advice? Must the gardener or the electrician arrive when expected? Must that new computer work perfectly when you get it home? Must other drivers be courteous?
The reality is that even in the best circumstances, you’ll experience a lot of disappointment. People will act in ways you don’t like or don’t expect. It’s unwise to insist that other people and situations always conform to your terms. In fact, it’s more likely that you will live a more peaceful and joyful life if you thoughtfully accept reality and give up trying to control people and situations.
#4: Calm your angry urges with relaxation, mindfulness, and meditation
Anger is a state of physiological arousal that is part of the body’s “fight or flight” system, activated in response to perceived threats or frustrations. The adrenal glands release stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which trigger the body to tighten blood vessels, increasing heart rate and blood pressure. You breathe more rapidly. Your muscles tense. Your temperature rises. Your digestive system shuts down. But the stress response of chronic anger can make you sick. To counter the stress response, practice relaxation, mindfulness and meditation.
Calming words. Choose a calming word, like “calm” or “mellow,” and then say the word aloud (or simply think the word) in rhythm with the strokes or steps of a repetitive exercise like swimming, walking, or running.
Deep breathing. The way you breathe when you’re angry tends to be rapid and shallow. Counteract this tendency by practicing slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing—a breathing response that’s the opposite. Lie on the floor on your back. Stretch out comfortably. Place a small book on your abdomen. If you’re breathing from your diaphragm, the book will gently rise as you inhale and gently fall as you exhale. It may take you a few tries to get used to this movement: Breathe in, the book rises; breathe out, the book falls. Over the course of several days, practice deep breathing for a few minutes each day until this type of breathing begins to come naturally. Once you have it down, see if you can breathe in a way that re-creates this up-and-down movement of your diaphragm when you’re standing, when you’re sitting, and at other times as you go about your day.
#5: Express your anger in an assertive, productive way
Assertive anger is neither overly exaggerated or minimized. Rather, feelings are expressed in a productive way that looks for (and hopefully finds) a mutually acceptable solution to a problem. For example, say a co-worker pulls into a space at the office parking lot just when you were about to take it. Assertive anger is expressing your thoughts and feelings and asking for a productive way of solving the problem.
It’s not overly exaggerated: “I couldn’t believe what you did, and I was feeling so angry at you!” It’s not minimized: “You got the parking space first, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” It is assertive and productive: “I felt angry when you pulled into the parking space I thought I was going to take. I notice you and I come to work about the same time every day. How do you think we might best handle that?”
