Optimistic people are more likely to live beyond the age of 85: Study

"Raising levels of optimism may promote longevity and healthy ageing. Interventions, such as imagining a future in which everything has turned out well, or more intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy, can increase levels of optimism."

Staying optimistic every single day is easier said than done, especially in today’s day and age when people are constantly firefighting. And those who may look, on the outside, like they have arrived aren’t usually satisfied with their lives either. However, there’s good reason to maintain a positive outlook, according to a new US study, which states that optimists are more likely to live longer than those who have a more negative approach to life.

Positive people are more likely to live to the age of 85 or more, says the study. It used two existing groups of people recruited for different studies — 70,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 1,500 men in the Veterans’ Health Study. Their levels of optimism were assessed, as well as their overall health. They were also asked about exercise and diets, as well as how much they smoked and drank alcohol.

According to BBC reports, researchers said pessimists could benefit from doing things like imagining a future where everything turns out well. On average, the most optimistic men and women had an 11-15 per cent longer lifespan and were significantly more likely to live to 85 compared with the least optimistic group.

While a lot is known about risk factors for disease and early death, far less is understood about what the researchers call positive psychosocial factors that could enable healthy ageing. Professor Lewina Lee, associate professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, who worked on the study, said in a report from BBC, “Our findings speak to the possibility that raising levels of optimism may promote longevity and healthy ageing. Evidence from randomised control trials suggests that interventions, such as imagining a future in which everything has turned out well, or more intensive cognitive-behavioural therapy, can increase levels of optimism.”

However, exactly why optimistic people appear to live longer is still up for debate, she said. “Healthier behaviours and lower levels of depression only partially explained our findings. “Initial evidence from other studies suggests that more optimistic people tend to have goals and the confidence to reach them, are more effective in problem-solving, and they may be better at regulating their emotions during stressful situations,” she added.

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