The Impact of Chronic Hypervigilance on Psychological Well-Being: A Narrative Review.

Hypervigilance is a state of intensified environmental scanning and heightened readiness to detect possible danger. Although brief vigilance can be adaptive in genuinely threatening contexts, persistent hypervigilance may become psychologically and physiologically costly when threat-monitoring continues in the absence of immediate danger. This narrative review synthesises evidence on the relationship between chronic hypervigilance, stress-system activation, cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, sleep, somatic symptoms, and social functioning. A focused literature search was conducted in July 2026 using PubMed and publisher databases, supplemented by reference chaining, with emphasis on peer-reviewed reviews, meta-analyses, and influential empirical studies. The literature indicates that sustained threat monitoring is associated with dysregulated autonomic and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, attentional bias toward threat, impaired prefrontal control, anxiety and depressive symptoms, disturbed sleep, somatic burden, and reduced quality of life. However, hypervigilance is not a diagnosis in itself, and its meaning depends on context, duration, functional impairment, trauma exposure, and co-occurring symptoms. Evidence supports trauma-informed assessment and, where clinically indicated, cognitive-behavioural, trauma-focused, and mindfulness-based interventions, while avoiding claims that relaxation practices alone are sufficient for severe or persistent symptoms. The review concludes that chronic hypervigilance is best understood as a transdiagnostic process that may initially protect the individual but can progressively undermine psychological well-being when threat detection remains inflexible and recovery is incomplete.