Study suggests happiness improves health

In a recent study published in the journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2,300 Mexican Americans, age 65 and older, participated in a study on the relationship between emotional well-being – happiness – and physical health. The study also examined their ability to maintain independence in activities of daily living over the two year study period.

The participants in the study were given questions reflecting their feelings of present happiness, hopefulness for the future, self esteem, and overall enjoyment of life. At the beginning of the study, all subjects were measured on their ability to perform daily routines such as dressing themselves and bathing. At the end of the study, researchers found those individuals who had reported the most positively on the measures of emotional wellness were less likely to have experienced declines in activities of daily living. Higher levels of emotional well-being were also significantly associated with faster walking speeds two years later. The study found that positive affect, feelings of happiness and well-being, seemed to protect individuals against physical decline in old age. This association between emotional well-being and good health was evident even after researchers controlled for variables such as chronic disease, weight, gender and education, and health habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol.

Several reasons were given for this positive association between emotional well-being and improved physical health including the possibility that positive affect could bolster the immune or endocrine functions of those in the study.

Emotional well-being and good mental health may also be related to such factors as:

The ability to accept unchangeable reality and make the most of less than satisfactory situations.
Possessing the ability to accept emotional support from others and also provide empathy and care to those in need of assistance.
Freedom from debilitating fears that reduces the ability to change and be flexible when necessary.
Perception of life as the opportunity to learn from experience rather than focusing on failures and mistakes.
Possessing the ability to develop and maintain satisfying relationships with others.
The ability to recognize, label, and experience the entire range of human emotions.
The ability to anticipate problems and avoid them when possible, or cope with them if they do occur.
The ability to manage emotional factors after a loss.
The ability to see life’s difficulties challenges and opportunities rather than threats and catastrophes.
The ability to find humor in difficult situations and laugh at ones own human frailties.

I’ll be returning to this important topic of emotional wellness in future columns.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2000