Professor Dacher Keltner says there's a reason having power can feel exhilarating. He says it triggers the "feel-good" hormone that's part of your brain's reward system. What we found in the lab [is] that power feels good, it's related to dopamine release, it's related to a better cardiovascular profile. When you are not empowered by people around you, it affects regions of the brain that activate the release of cortisol, the stress hormone, which dysregulates all of your body systems like digestion and respiratory and immune system and you die younger. People who don't feel empowered by their bosses, or their managers, or leaders or colleagues have more stress, more cortisol, they feel fearful, they take more sick days.
Emma Nobel and Maria Tickle, 'Power makes people 'more likely to lie, to cheat, to swear' at work, experts say', ABC