You've all met them. You know, those people that no matter how tough life gets they seem to always be happy and have a positive attitude. Now, thanks to a new study published this week, it seems that the ability to turn life's lemons into lemonade is actually good for your hear-and not just in the warm and fuzzy way.
People with an upbeat, can-do attitude also have significantly better cardiovascular health, according to researchers at the University of Illinois.
"Individuals with the highest levels of optimism have twice the odds of being in ideal cardiovascular health compared to their more pessimistic counterparts," the study's lead author, Rosalba Hernandez says. "This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health."
"This association remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health."
The study analyzed the mental health, physical health and levels of optimism of 5,100 adults, ranging from 45 to 84 years of age. The study found that the heart health scores of these individuals increased alongside the levels of optimism based on the American Heart Association approved metrics including blood pressure and body mass index.
People who were the most optimistic were 50 and 76 percent more likely to have total health scores in the intermediate or ideal ranges, respectively. The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity, income, and education status were factored in. People who were the most optimistic were twice as likely to have ideal cardiovascular health, and 55 percent more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range, the researchers found.
"At the population level, even this moderate difference in cardiovascular health translates into a significant reduction in death rates," Hernandez says. "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."
However, this isn't the first study that has linked a positive outlook with heart health. In 2012, Harvard researchers found associations with optimism, hope and overall satisfaction with life with reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.
So what should people take away from this study? Take a closer look at your attitude each day, as the more positive and upbeat you are could be better for the overall health of your heart, and could even help you live a much longer and more fulfilling life.
