Happy People Have Live Longer Opportunities

Blessed in this short life. So often the expression is audible. In actual fact is people who feel happy even though the condition is usually only have a chance of living longer.

Study in England revealed a parent who said her life happy even just for a while, have a smaller chance of dying over a period of 5 years.

Overall, the results showed that parents who are happy to have 35 percent lower risk of dying during the study than those who are most happy.


The study has followed more than 3850 people in England aged 52-79 years and conducted over 5 years. The study included a study that examines the longest in Britain about aging.

"Happiness is a moment may be related to biological processes or other behavioral factors that can explain the possibility of increased survival. However, the results of these studies emphasize the importance of emotional wellbeing for parents," said study researcher Andrew Steptoe, director of the Division of Population Health at University College London as reported from MSNHealth, Tuesday (01/11/2011).

The researchers think about the happiness that has a relationship with health. But the challenge is figuring out a specific mechanism that works. Whether the disease will make someone feel less happy. Or does happiness protects against a disease.

"The study observed about the second possibility," said Steptoe.

The researchers acknowledged some limitations of their study. That study did not view death as a whole and did not observe the cause-specific mortality such as cancer. The researchers also did not assess individual risk factors such as obesity.

"Although the study did not prove that happiness leads to a longer life, but it can be seen that by increasing positive emotions in everyday life, may have a positive effect on a longer life," says Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychology professor at the University of California, Riverside. The results of these studies have been reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.