14 DAY TRIAL // The conclusions of a new scientific study show that feeling good and being subjected to positive vibrations improves people's health. This is one of the first researches to show that this is true in an organized manner. The survey was carried out on the existing literature on the topic.
Investigators focused their attention on teasing out potential correlations between experiencing positive emotions and the influence this has health outcomes later on in life, into adulthood.
Details of the study, which was conducted by experts at the Cornell University, were published in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.
The work, authored by Cornell expert Anthony Ong, PhD, provides evidences that feeling good can indeed be tied to improved overall health, as well as reduced levels of stress, pain, and illness.
“We all age. It is how we age, however, that determines the quality of our lives,” Ong explains. He believes that positive attitudes and emotions can prove to be a powerful antidote against the most common factors that decrease quality of life for seniors.
The mechanisms through which this improvements take place may be multiple, the researcher says. For example, happier people tend to manage their time better, allowing for a full night's sleep. This helps improve quality of life in most people.
Additionally, people in good mood are more likely to exercise than their sad or depressed peers, and this is also known to contribute to increasing life satisfaction. As bodies become more susceptible to disease over the years, these healthier choices could be making their effects felt.
Positive emotions should therefore be linked to “one direct, measureable (sic!) consequence of this should be the extended years of quality living,” the expert believes.
The study is just the latest certification of the centuries-old belief that happier people live longer. It is very hard for researchers to conduct studies to validate this because defining and accounting for happiness is a very tricky business.
That is why general surveys of existing literature are the best way to tease out connections. These investigations cover numerous people and a variety of research methods. If a connection springs up, then you can be sure it's actually there, PsychCentral reports.