After looking at interview data of 7524 civil servants, aged 35 to 55-years, from 1985 to 1988 about their levels of boredom, researchers at University College London have reached the conclusion boredom can kill you.

They then found out whether or not they had died by April last.

Researchers found that study participants who reported feeling greatly bored were 37% more likely to have died by the end of the study. They believe unhappiness with their lives made them resort to unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking, greatly reducing their life expectancy.

Quoting researcher Martin Shipley, co-author of the report, the Courier Mail says the findings on heart disease provide sufficient evidence of a link with boredom.

This makes it essential for those people who are in boring jobs to discover some outside interests, in order to keep boredom at bay, rather than resorting to drinking and smoking to kill it.

According to Graham Price, a psychologist, for the many who find no motivation or inspiration in life, who tend to veer towards depression, the only way out for them is to change their focus.

The study will be published this week in the International Journal of Epidemiology.