We’ve discussed the power of positive thinking on the blog before, but a new study suggests that an optimistic outlook on life may have significant health benefits.
Researchers at the University of Illinois said optimists have a higher correlation with heart health than pessimists.
“Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts,” said Rosalba Hernandez, lead author of the study. “This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health.”
Researchers tracked seven metrics of more than 5,000 adults for the study. They measured:
- Blood pressure
- Body mass index
- Fasting plasma glucose
- Serum cholesterol levels
- Dietary intake
- Physical activity
- Tobacco use
These seven metrics are the same metrics used by the American Heart Association to define heart health. Participants were graded on a 0-2 scale on each metric, with 0 representing poor, 1 representing intermediate and 2 representing ideal health. In addition to the metric scores, participants took a survey that assessed their mental health and levels of optimism.
After comparing the data, researchers found:
- Participants who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health.
- Optimists were 55 percent more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range.
- Optimists had significantly better blood sugar and total cholesterol levels, and they also tended to be more physically active, have better BMIs and were less likely to smoke.
Hernandez said the findings were significant, and physicians should stress the importance of physical and mental well-being.
“At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates,” Hernandez said. “This evidence, which is hypothesized to occur through a biobehavioral mechanism, suggests that prevention strategies that target modification of psychological well-being – e.g., optimism – may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans’ cardiovascular health by 20 percent before 2020.”
Dr. Silverman comments
Pairing physical health with mental health is very important. Seeing the glass as half full won’t automatically lower your blood pressure, but it will put you a the right frame of mind to make positive lifestyle choices, like exercising or eating right.
Related sources: Illinois.edu, TIME
