When it comes to longevity, all eyes are on a healthy lifestyle, such as eating a balanced diet and exercising.
But experts say a dose of optimism is as important as sweating in the gym when it comes to adding years to your life.
The researchers, led by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, studied data on 159,255 women, including postmenopausal women in the United States and registered women aged 50 to 79 between 1993 and 1998, followed by up to 26 years.
They found that optimists were more likely to survive the past 90 years than those who strayed to the pessimistic side.
Writing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the researchers wrote that optimism was actually associated with a 5.4% increase in life expectancy, or an average of 4.4 years longer.
Researchers have found similar results even in people with problems such as depression and other chronic health conditions.
Experts carefully consider other social and economic factors.
The relationship between optimism and longer life was seen in all racial and ethnic groups.
“It is worth noting that exercise is widely recognized as an important factor for health and studies have shown that regular exercise adds 0.4 to 4.2 years to life. Therefore, our results suggest that the effect of optimism may be similar to that of exercise, ”said Dr. said the researchers.
A more detailed analysis of the results revealed that women were the most optimistic.
The researchers found that women who were more optimistic were 10% more likely to live beyond age 90 than their less optimistic peers.
What influenced the results, the researchers said, were lifestyle factors, such as choosing the healthiest foods available.
Other topics include the types of support networks people receive when they are going through difficult times.
Source: The Sun.
Source: Arabic RT
