It’s long been said that complaining is bad for you, and new research from Stanford University has found that it really does shrink your brain.

Researchers concluded that complaining shrinks the hippocampus, which is a part of your brain that is critical to problem solving and intelligent thought. Any damage to the hippocampus is terrifying, especially when you remember that this is the main part of the brain that is affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

Complaining also causes your body to release the stress hormone cortisol, which puts you into a fight-or-flight mode. This causes oxygen, blood, and energy to be directed away from everything in your body except for the parts that are immediately essential to survival. Frequent complaining can cause longterm damage to your immune system and leave you susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and even strokes.

There are two main things you can do when you feel the need to complain. The first is to work on cultivating an attitude of gratitude in that whenever you feel like complaining, you should shift your attention to something you are grateful for. Researchers at the University of California, Davis carried out a study that found that those who adopt an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood and energy and substantially less anxiety due to lower cortisol levels.

The second thing you can do when you feel like complaining is engage in solution-oriented complaining. This means that you should have a clear purpose to your complaints and try to find a positive solution to whatever you are complaining about, rather than just focusing on the negative. If you do this, it may just change your life and improve your overall health.