Rumination and Cardiovascular Adaptation to Repeated Psychological Stress

Rumination, that is mentally dwelling on past-centred negative, unwanted, and persistent thoughts, has been reliably linked to exaggerated cardiovascular responses to, and prolonged cardiovascular recovery from, a single psychological stressor. Although cardiovascular adaptation to multiple stress exposures is also an important indicator of a healthful stress response, only one study has examined the association between trait rumination and adaptation to repeated stress, employing a protocol administered across two separate testing sessions, 1 week apart. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of trait rumination on cardiovascular adaptation to repeated psychological stress within the same testing session. In a single laboratory visit, 146 participants completed a standardised stress testing protocol where they were exposed to the same stress task twice, separated by an inter-task interval. Trait rumination was assessed using the revised Emotion Control Questionnaire. Participants' cardiovascular parameters were monitored throughout using a Finometer. Habituation was operationalised as significant differences between reactivity scores from task 1 to reactivity scores from task 2. Repeated measures ANCOVA's found that lower levels of trait rumination were associated with greater systolic blood pressure adaptation in comparison to those reporting a higher tendency to ruminate, who showed less of a decrease in reactivity from the first to the second stress exposure, indicating poorer adaptation. Rumination did not affect cardiovascular habituation for other parameters, however it is worth noting that individuals in this sample failed to habituate regardless of trait rumination. Our results present some evidence implicating rumination as a possible mechanism compromising an individual's capacity to adequately adapt to repeated stress, which over time may play a role in the aetiology of disease. However, more research is needed to replicate this effect.