The type of personality you have can impact your health and well being, according to the Mayo Clinic. People who think positively may reap a number of health benefits. While the precise reasons for this remain unclear, it may be because happy people generally live healthier lifestyles that include regular exercise, healthy eating, not smoking and lower alcohol consumption.
Common Cold
A positive outlook on life may increase your resistance to the common cold, according to the Mayo Clinic. A study of 343 adult volunteers found that those who were angry, melancholy or anxious were more apt to report cold-related symptoms, regardless of whether they really had a cold. The findings of the study were published in July 2003 in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
Cardiovascular Disease
An optimistic attitude may lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, advises the Mayo Clinic. The American Heart Association reports that cardiovascular disease–the combination of heart disease and stroke–claims 950,000 lives in the U.S. each year.
There may be truth the old saying that laughter is the best medicine. A study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center found that laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect against a heart attack. The study found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations, compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
Stress
An optimistic person may be less apt to become stressed out during hard times, suggests the Mayo Clinic. A happy individual may be able to sidestep the damaging effects of stress, which can include weakened immune, digestive and nervous systems, obesity and cardiovascular disease, notes the Hormone Foundation.
Longer Lifespan
Positive feelings about aging may actually prolong life. Researchers at Yale University in Connecticut found that looking forward to growing old could actually help you to live longer. The results of the 23-year study of people ages 50 and over revealed that those who had a positive attitude toward getting older lived roughly seven and a half years longer than participants who were dreading their later years. The findings of the study were published in 2002 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
