When new health studies come out, they’re usually focused on what is bad for our bodies. Sure, we know smoking and red meat aren’t great, but now we also have to think about sitting too much, needing sunscreen all the time, and the effects of chronic stress.
Fortunately there are also plenty of researchers looking at the positives. They are studying the small changes we can make every day to lengthen our lives, but more importantly to improve the quality of our lives too. Here are just some of the exciting and weird things linked to living longer.
Optimism
Being a glass half-full kind of person doesn’t just make you more fun to be around. It also means you’re going to be around far longer than your pessimistic pals. Researchers from the University of Illinois found that optimism affects both your health and your lifespan. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology examined the health of over 70,000 women. Harvard research fellows Kaitlin Hagan and Eric Kim found that the most optimistic women were 29 percent less likely to die than the least optimistic. When the researchers broke the groups down by disease, the optimistic women still lived longer. The optimistic women were 38 percent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease and 16 percent less likely to die of cancer.
So how can feeling a bit happier make you live longer? Well, for one thing, it may affect how you take care of yourself. “We did account for many things . . . People with more optimism have better health habits — they exercise more, eat better — and those things are attributed to lower mortality rates,” Hagan told the Boston Globe. “Even accounting for those behaviors, they still have lower chances of death.” A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that an optimistic mood was associated with an increase in immune system cells. This may be due to the fact that optimistic people typically don’t feel as stressed. It’s the body’s stress response that can hinder your immune system.
Now say you’re not the most optimistic person. You try, but sometimes you just can’t get there. Are you doomed to a shorter, less satisfying life? No, if you’re willing to change. “The one thing people have asked is, ‘I’m not an optimistic person, is that something I should be worried about?’” Hagan told the Boston Globe. “Other studies have shown you can increase your optimism. Optimism is something you can change.” Hagan recommends writing down three things you are grateful for everyday to start to increase your level of optimism.
Having kids
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Here’s a huge score for all the parents out there. Even though it feels like your kids are taking years off your life, they’re actually adding to it. A study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reported that having children will help you live longer. Researchers found that by age 60, mothers are expected to live 1.5 years longer than their childless gal pals.
The researchers believe that having adult children to care for you adds years to your life. Being a parent may also keep you more social, which we know is associated with longer life. So next time your kids are whining about getting another episode of Bubble Guppies, take a deep breath. It’s those whiny little voices that are going to keep you happy and healthy for years to come.
Happiness
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Just like your irritatingly-optimistic friend, your super happy friends are also going to outlive all of us. Happiness has a huge effect on both our health and how our brains function.
A study in the Proceedings of the National Sciences found that study participants were up to 35 percent less likely to die during the study duration if they reported feeling happy during the average day. “We had expected that we might see a link between how happy people felt over the day and their future mortality, but we were struck by how strong the effect was,” Andrew Steptoe, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, told CNN.
Sarah Pressman, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, added that happiness may actually change our brains. The same areas in your brain involved in feeling happy also control inflammation and blood vessels. Happy people have lower levels of stress hormones like cortisol. “There are still some people who see happiness as something fluffy and less scientific — not something they should be worried about like, say, stress or depression,” Dr. Pressman told CNN.
Laughter
Laughter has some serious physical benefits. A study from the University of Maryland found that laughter can put you at lower risk for heart disease. When you laugh, your heart, lungs, and muscles receive more oxygen. Laughing stimulates circulation in the body, while helping your muscles relax. It also improves your immune system and decreases painful sensations.
“The old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine,’ definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart,” Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine explained in a press release. “We don’t know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack.”
You don’t have to be the happiest person to start incorporating laughter into your day. Dr. Miller explained that laughter can actually be a learned behavior. “The ability to laugh, either naturally or as learned behavior, may have important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer,” Dr. Miller said. “We know that exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease. Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list.” Ready to laugh more? Stream a funny movie or grab your girlfriends and hit up a comedy club tonight. Change it up!
Source: Thelist