New research says hitting the gym when you're upset is a terrible idea

If you’re the kind of person who makes a beeline for the gym after a terrible day at work or an epic fight with your boyfriend, a new study might make you re-think your emotion-fuelled workout habits.

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According to research published in the journal Circulation, pushing yourself through a gruelling gym session when you’re upset is linked to three times greater risk of having a heart attack.

The study looked at 12,500 patients from 52 countries who'd had a heart attack, and their behaviour in the hour before the attack. This included whether they had engaged in exercise or were angry or upset at the time.

Scientists found that suffering from extreme emotions can double the risk of having a heart attack, as can doing intense exercise.

When the two are combined, the risk of heart attack tripled.

"Both [exercise and extreme emotions] can raise blood pressure and heart rate, changing the flow of blood through blood vessels and reducing blood supply to the heart," says Dr Andrew Smyth, of McMaster University in Canada.

“Regular physical activity has many health benefits, including the prevention of heart disease, so we want that to continue,” he adds.

“However, we would recommend that a person who is angry or upset who wants to exercise to blow off steam not go beyond their normal routine to extremes of activity.”

There you have it: if you feel the need to go to the gym after a bad day, just make sure you’re not overdoing it.

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