What if some members of the government had access to health information before everyone else did? By refusing to where a tie in Parliament, could they actually be warning us of the dangers? In fact, according to conclusions of an experiment led by the University Medical Center at Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, wearing a tie around your neck could actually lead to unexpected consequences for our health and brain functions.
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A change to your blood circulation
When we search for ‘wearing a tie’ in search engines, 1,910,000 results come up. Against 516,000 to ‘replace the tie’. It’s a safe bet that this trend could soon be reversed. Scientists have recently been looking into this issue and asked 30 volunteers to participate in an experiment, whose results were published in the Neuroradiology journal on 30th June last year, in which they observed the cerebral blood circulation of the volunteers.
Half of the people involved in this experiment wore a tie and the other half didn’t. It was noted that for the first half of people, their blood circulation levels were 7.5% lower. But why? The tie that was in contact with the jugular veins were responsible for draining the blood in the veins from the cranium. Although this percentage may be quite low, it is however significant. Especially for people who already suffer from arterial problems. By lowering the blood flow, the knot, no matter whether it’s simple, Windsor or a double knot, could potentially slow down brain activity and limit cognitive capabilities.
To be taken with a pinch of salt
As the article in New Scientists said in 2003, it has already been established that wearing a tie could also have an effect on the arterial tension in your eyes and cause glaucoma. Keith Barton, an ophthalmologist in a hospital in London, an eye specialist, warned at the time that ‘if you see a patient with raised pressure, it’s worth checking if their tie is too tight.’
And that’s exactly what is wrong with this study led in Germany. It doesn’t mention the way that participants tied their tie. And the British media Metro also claims that the sample of people involved in the experiment was too small and there was a lack of further analysis carried out on brain reactions and real-time decision-making.
In any case and judging by the dangerous effects that ties have been proved to have on your health, Oscar Wild’s famous line ‘A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life’ should probably be changed. Provided it’s not changed to ‘A too well-tied tie’!
Check out the video above for more on this study...
