Psychological Science journals notes a study where thinking about God and religion can make a person lesser distressed and lesser anxious in life. The study involved measuring brain waves according to distress responses as participants made errors on the test. Those who were primed for God and religion weren’t as scared or as anxious compared to those who weren’t.

Co-author Michael Inzlicht along with Alexa Tullett of the University of Toronto Scarborough notes that about 85% of the world believes in God and religion, though as men and women of science, roles and functions of which to the human brain remains yet to be explored.

The study illustrates the results with 2 experiments. When people thought about religion and God, their brains responded in such a way that is coping easier with setbacks and with lesser anxiety to mistakes. Alerting mechanisms in the brain, or waves to the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) were lessened whenever things are going wrong or if we just made a mistake.

To those who were grouped as atheists, reactions were starkly different. When they were unconsciously primed for religion and God-related thoughts, ACC alerting mechanisms for anxiety and mistakes were heightened.

Study authors attempt to illustrate that for the religious, the order of the world and random events happening around them have better and acceptable explanations which accounts for reduced tensions and distress. Atheists, on the other hand, find it difficult to accept because God and religion contradict their existing order systems and beliefs, and this is what causes the tension and distress.

Inzlicht further notes that religion, when practiced and thought of in times of stressful situations like mistakes, calms a person under fire. “We think, too, that given this evidence, religious people have a tendency to live longer, better, healthier, and happier because their alerting mechanisms aren’t too active.”

What atheists can do perhaps is to find peace and conviction to their existing set of order systems and beliefs, so when mistakes and stressful situations happen, they won’t be too busy contradicting themselves which creates the constant alert.