To live longer… What to do? Being optimistic would be enough! At least that’s what a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).
American scientists have studied more than 70,000 people to understand what would allow us to have greater longevity and better health. These patients come from two databases and are predominantly female.
Fewer the effects of long-term stress
The first database offers patient records over a period of 10 years, while the second covers a broader period of 30 years. The medical data relate to the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, the general state of health, but to this is added a questionnaire which also relates to the optimism of the patients.
Optimism was measured in particular through an affirmation to which the patient had to answer yes or no: “En general, I expect more good things than bad things to happen to me.“
Results ? The most optimistic among them gained between 11% and 15% more life expectancy than the less optimistic. The study also underlines that optimism is the ingredient that would make it possible to exceed 85 years of age. The reasons ? Researchers speculate that optimists suffer less from their emotions and the effects of stress.
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