Article #258503

Our physiological response to emotions apparently lasts just a minute and a half. But there’s an embarrassing episode from 2009 that still makes me sweat

I’ve just discovered the “90-second rule”, a concept neuroanatomist Dr Jill Bolte Taylor explored in her book, Whole Brain Living, back in 2021. That’s how long our physiological response to emotions such as anger lasts, from the time we formulate a thought to the point at which our blood is “completely clean” of the noradrenaline released in response to it, Bolte Taylor explained to a US news channel.

I read about it in US magazine Bustle, which suggested a 90-second timeout could “reset your vibe”, reframing it, bleakly, as an alternative to a lunch break: “It often feels like a big ask to take an hour lunch … everyone can use just 90 seconds for a quick reset.” Presumably it’s back in the ether because Bolte Taylor appeared on Steven Bartlett’s podcast last November, explaining that if you’re still experiencing emotional reactions after 90 seconds, “you’re rethinking the thoughts.”