Optimism Helps You Live Longer?

If you want to live longer, keep on the sunny side of life. Having an optimistic outlook can actually extend your lifespan. Research shows that optimists live 15% longer than pessimists, according to a study reported in Science Magazine, one of the world’s top peer-reviewed academic journals.

A large study – combining data from two long-term studies, one of 69,744 women and another of 1429 men – showed an association between cultivating a positive mindset and a longer lifespan.

Study participants answered questionnaires concerning their feelings about the future. The results were striking, particularly among women, showing that “the most optimistic women (top 25%) lived an average of 14.9% longer than their more pessimistic peers.” They were 1.5 times more likely to live until age 85 than those who were the least optimistic.

Results for men were significant but less dramatic: the most optimistic men lived 10.9% longer than their peers, on average. However, they were 1.7 times more likely to live to age 85.

These research results echo other findings on optimism and longevity highlighted by Harvard Health Publishing. Long-term studies in the United States and the Netherlands have explored connections between optimism/pessimism and life span.

In the 1960s in America, 829 people were evaluated on an optimism vs. pessimism scale. Thirty years later, when they were checked again, optimism was shown to be linked to longevity: “for every 10-point increase in pessimism on the optimism-pessimism test, the mortality rate rose 19%.”

In another four-decades-long U.S. study involving nearly 7,000 students, people who were the most pessimistic had a 42% higher death rate than their most optimistic peers.

In one Dutch study of 941 people ages 65-85, those who “demonstrated dispositional optimism [or having positive expectations for one’s future] at the start of the study enjoyed a 45% lower risk of death during a nine-year follow-up period.”

If you’re not naturally optimistic, there’s hope: research shows you can change your mindset. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a powerful tool to help you establish new thought patterns.

Read the research on optimism and longevity in PNAS, the Proceedings from the National Academy of Science.

Learn more about research connecting optimism and physical health here.

 

Schultz, David. “Cheer up! Optimists live longer.” Science.org, 26 Aug 2019, https://www.science.org/content/article/cheer-optimists-live-longer.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash