Happiness leads to longer, healthier lives: Study
Story at a glance
- Happiness helps people live longer and healthier lives, a 2022 Harvard University study found.
- That includes improved immune functionality, healthier hearts and fewer aches and pains.
- Research found that more optimistic folks were more successful in their jobs and relationships.
NEW YORK (NewsNation) — Being happy and more optimistic is not only good for you, but it can help people become more successful, according to researchers.
Happiness helps people live longer and healthier lives, a 2022 Harvard University study found. That includes improved immune functionality, healthier hearts and fewer aches and pains. Plus, research found that more optimistic folks were more successful in their jobs and relationships.
The Harvard study found that optimistic people live about 11% to 15% longer than pessimists and had a better chance of living past the age of 85.
People have to work toward optimism
Sue Varma, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at New York University, said it’s not just that people have a natural positive outlook on life, but rather that they work toward it.
“They have grit, they have tenacity,” Varma said. “They don’t give up.”
Varma explained that thinking pessimistically every so often isn’t a problem. In fact, she said it can be highly protective because it gives people a lot of good information about what to avoid.
The main problem is when people become mired in negativity, she said.
“So we want to prevent the rumination and the slippery slope that a lot of pessimists have,” Varma said.
Self-improvement market skyrockets
The self-improvement market is one place where Americans are looking for help to achieve the goal of being more optimistic.
Market data estimates the self-improvement market was worth more than $13 billion in 2022, which includes coaching, self-help books, audio and apps.
The app market was reportedly worth $762 million alone in 2022. Experts anticipate it to grow to nearly a billion dollars by 2027.
Within the app realm, there are resources to help people navigate their way into a more optimistic mindset if they are not there already.
There are also books, podcasts, workshops, online groups and even paid courses available on how to become more positive.
How to have a more optimistic mindset
Psychotherapist Robi Ludwig said Wednesday on “Morning in America” that training your brain to look for the positives in situations could help improve your mindset.
Ludwig said that being optimistic is, in part, part of our personality, explaining that some people are born with an intrinsic ability to be optimistic. However, she also said many people tend to have a negativity bias because it’s self-protective.
Multiple studies have found that humans can actually train their brains to be more optimistic, she said. The first part of that includes looking at our surrounding environments, as most people are affected by their surroundings, she explained.
“We are very much affected by our environment by the people we interact with, the news that we digest and the things that we read. To think about what is helping my mental well-being, you have to be somewhat aware of yourself,” Ludwig said.
Ludwig explained that when people observe the good things in their lives, they’re better able to see themselves as a luckier person.
“Optimism is about nurturing a realistic hopefulness where you take action to move in the direction of your dreams and just a healthier, happier way of interacting in the world,” Ludwig said.