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Optimists Live Longer
New research reveals how positive thinking affects the body
If you look on the bright side, you just might live longer — much longer, according to some upbeat new research. And don’t be surprised if that rosy outlook also helps you sleep better at night.
A new study finds women who characterize themselves as having the highest levels of optimism live 15% longer than the least optimistic women and have a 50% greater chance of reaching age 85. The most optimistic men live 11% longer and are 70% more likely to reach 85. (The different results for men and women are not significant, the researchers say.)
The research, reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, followed 69,744 women for 10 years and 1,429 men for 30 years. Both groups were surveyed at the outset to assess their level of optimism, as well as other factors that researchers accounted for, including demographics, health conditions, depression, and diet. Optimism is typically defined as a general expectation that good things will happen, or that the future will be favorable because a person can control important outcomes, the researchers explain.
Pessimists might say the study doesn’t prove cause-and-effect, and they’d be right, but this is just one of many studies linking optimism to improved health outcomes.
“We know that more optimistic people tend to have lower risks of chronic diseases and premature death,” says study team member Lewina Lee, a clinical research psychologist of the VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. But, Lee adds, researchers don’t know exactly how optimism confers benefits, or whether the reverse might be at play, with better health driving optimism.
One key seems to involve the body’s stress response. Chronic stress can lead to inflammation which can cause many diseases, studies have shown. Lee and others say optimism likely reduces stress, whereas pessimism causes chronic stress that could foster this path to poor health.
Sounder sleep, better heart health
Compared to pessimists, the most optimistic people say they sleep better and longer, are less likely to be sleepy during the…
