A study has shown that giving up Facebook can reduce the stress chemicals present in a person’s body.

University of Queensland researchers discovered that by taking a short five-day break from Facebook, a person’s cortisol levels could be reduced significantly. Cortisol is a hormone that is related to stress and is commonly found in a person's saliva. 

“The typical Facebook user may occasionally find the large amount of social information available taxing, and Facebook vacations could ameliorate this stress—at least in the short term,” the researchers wrote in their report. 

Read also: Five signs you are way too stressed

However, it’s not as simple as saying that "Facebook makes you feel stressed and bad". At the end of the five-day experiment, most of the 138 volunteers that took part reported a drop in well-being and were actually looking forward to going back to Facebook.  

“While participants in our study showed an improvement in physiological stress by giving up Facebook, they also reported lower feelings of well-being. People said they felt more unsatisfied with their life, and were looking forward to resuming their Facebook activity,” psychologist Eric Vanman from the University of Queensland concluded in a statement. (ely/kes)

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