OK, maybe this is a no-brainer, but here it is anyway. :)
-DRWS
Happiness may be good for your health
Last Updated: 2008-01-02 14:35:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Amy Norton
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A happy heart just might be a healthier one as well, new research suggests.
In a study of nearly 3,000 healthy
British adults, lead by Dr. Andrew Steptoe of University College
London, found that those who reported upbeat moods had lower levels of
cortisol -- a "stress" hormone that, when chronically elevated, may
contribute to high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and dampened
immune function, among other problems.
In the study, published in the
American Journal of Epidemiology, women who reported more positive
emotions had lower blood levels of two proteins that indicate
widespread inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is believed
to contribute to a range of ills over time, including heart disease and
cancer.
Researchers have long noted that
happier people tend to be in better health than those who are
persistently stressed, hostile or pessimistic. But the reasons are
still being studied.
One possibility is that happier
people lead more healthful lifestyles, but not all studies have found
this to be the case, explained Steptoe.
"We have therefore been searching for more direct biological links between positive states and health," he told Reuters Health.
The current findings, according to
Steptoe, add to evidence that happiness and other positive emotions are
"associated with biological responses that are health-protective."
The study, published in the American
Journal, included 2,873 healthy men and women between the ages of 50
and 74. Over the course of one day, participants collected six samples
of their saliva so that the researchers could measure their cortisol
levels; after taking each sample, participants recorded their current
mood -- the extent to which they felt "happy, excited or content."
On a separate day, the researchers
measured participant‘s levels of C-reactive protein and interleukin 6,
two markers of inflammation in the body.
They found that men and women who
reported happier moods had lower average cortisol levels over the
course of the day -- even when factors such as age, weight, smoking and
income were taken into account.
Among women, but not men, positive
emotions were also related to lower levels of C-reactive protein and
interleukin 6. The reason for the sex difference is not clear,
according to the researchers.
Steptoe said the findings on cortisol
confirm the results of earlier, smaller studies; the results on C
reactive protein and interleukin 6, however, are new.
"These findings suggest another biological process linking happiness with reduced biological vulnerability," he said.
But if happier people are healthier people, the more difficult question remains: How do you become happier?
"What we do know," Steptoe noted, "is
that people‘s mood states are not just a matter of heredity, but depend
on our social relationships and fulfillment in life."
"We need to help people to recognize
the things that make them feel good and truly satisfied with their
lives, so that they spend more time doing these things."
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 1, 2008.