When I first saw this I thought - FReeper.
Posted on 04/24/2012 5:41:53 PM PDT by neverdem
Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health.
Scientists have known about the reverse relationship between psychological health and heart health for some time; studies show that depression and anxiety can worsen outcomes for heart patients. But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not been as consistent.
In a new analysis, researchers at Harvard sought a more definitive conclusion by reviewing the results of more than 200 studies looking at cardiovascular risks and emotional state, making this the largest report on the subject to date. Over all, the researchers found that traits like optimism and hope, and higher levels of happiness and satisfaction with one’s life, were linked with reductions in the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Such associations can be hard to untangle. Does being optimistic directly protect health, or is it the reverse — that people who watch their weight, exercise often and are generally in good health simply have more reason to be happy and optimistic? While researchers cannot say for sure, some studies have found a protective effect for optimism even after controlling for things like socioeconomic status, body weight and smoking.
One study last year, for example, looked at 8,000 people and found a lower risk of heart disease among those who reported more happiness or satisfaction in areas like career, sex life and family, but not in areas like romance and standard of living...
(Excerpt) Read more at well.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Even if they’re wrong its always better to die happy.
I’m already 6 feet under then.
Bummer PING!
The Obamas could do their fair share to reduce the risk of heart disease among Americans and LEAVE OFFICE!
I could be Optimistic if i could quit smoking these damn cigarettes !
And Obama gets the boot !
So, the opposite of optimism is “depression and anxiety”?
I thought it was pessimism. Is this a flaw in the study?
As the expression goes, “An optimist is never pleasantly surprised.” But this also means that a pessimist *is* pleasantly surprised. Is pleasant surprise bad for you?
Being an optimist means a high probability that what you hope for will not come to pass. But much like gamblers, whose brains are stimulated *more* when they lose than when they win, do optimists benefit from being disappointed?
I’ll take the heart attack.
When I first saw this I thought - FReeper.
Have you ever seen this site?: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx
Authentic Happiness has been used to evaluate depression and works to modify people’s responses to adverse situations. It’s worked for people I know. I scored off the scale in happiness, so...
Thanks for the link.
I don’t think so.
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