The study, carried out by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the VA Boston Healthcare System and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that optimistic people can live up to 15% longer than pessimists.
The study drew data from previous surveys of 69,744 women and 1,429 men over the course of 10 and 30 years, respectively. The surveys were designed to measure participants’ optimism levels as well as their diets and smoking and alcohol use habits.
The results found that women with the highest optimism levels had a 1.5 times greater chance of living to 85 years of age or longer when compared to the most pessimistic women. Highly optimistic men, on the other hand, had a 1.7 times greater chance of living to the age of 85 or beyond than the most pessimistic men surveyed.
In other words, the study found that the most optimistic women lived 15% longer than pessimistic women, while optimistic men lived 11% longer than pessimistic men. The survey questions also took into account other factors such as education, diseases, mental health issues and other health-related behaviors.
"While research has identified many risk factors for diseases and premature death, we know relatively less about positive psychosocial factors that can promote healthy aging," study author Dr. Lewina Lee is quoted as saying by Medical Xpress. "This study has strong public health relevance because it suggests that optimism is one such psychosocial asset that has the potential to extend the human lifespan. Interestingly, optimism may be modifiable using relatively simple techniques or therapies."
"Our study contributes to scientific knowledge on health assets that may protect against mortality risk and promote resilient aging. We hope that our findings will inspire further research on interventions to enhance positive health assets that may improve the public's health with aging," Lee continued.
Although scientists don’t have a concrete understanding why optimists may live longer than their pessimistic peers, research suggests that optimistic people are able to regulate their emotions better and deal with stressful situations more effectively. Optimistic people also tend to have healthier habits, such as exercising and eating healthy foods.
"Research on the reason why optimism matters so much remains to be done, but the link between optimism and health is becoming more evident," study author Fran Grodstein told Medical Xpress.
