THE SECRET BEHIND BOOSTING OUR LIFE SPAN BY 15 %
Have you ever felt your head starting to hurt after reading a sad story ? Or do you get “brain fog” when you’re stressed out ? That’s because your brain’s health is closely tied to your state of mind. Your thinking changes how the cells in your body function. Studies show that people who think and act positive are healthier overall and live longer than those who stay constantly negative. Here’s what science has found about positive thinking and why is so important for our brains and bodies!
Positive Mindset Enhances Happiness And Success
Another 2019 study found that positive thinking can result in an 11-15% longer lifespan and a stronger likelihood of living to age 85 or older. In addition to positive thinking, there are lifestyle factors that can add years to your life, including exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a nutrient-dense diet, consuming only moderate amounts of alcohol, not smoking, all of which can help extend lifespan by 12–14 years, according to this 2018 study.
While studies point to living longer, they don’t often discuss the improved quality of life that comes with it. But as the field of positive psychology is exploring, beyond increased lifespan, positive thoughts and emotions contribute tremendously to happiness so you can enjoy a richer, more satisfying life.
Another study found that happiness can actually give rise to success. In other words, not only can success lead to feelings of happiness but the reverse is true as well. Researchers behind this 2005 study proposed that individuals exercising positive mood or emotions such as confidence, likability and optimism, are likely to pursue higher goals while in these positive states. Drawing from evidence of previous studies, the researchers concluded that positive affect fosters a number of characteristics, skills, and behaviours—such as sociability, liking of self, and physical health—that contribute to successful outcomes.
Positive emotions activate specific areas in the frontal lobe — the part responsible for regulating emotional responses. Chemically what happens is that cortisol decreases when we think happy thoughts or feel joy, and the brain creates serotonin in response to our positive emotions. When serotonin levels are normal, one feels happy, calm, less anxious, more focused and emotionally stable.
Perhaps the most important thing to know about our brains is that it can grow new neurons — but only if we feed it with a sufficient supply of positivity. The more positive experiences our brains have, the more likely it will be able to develop new connections between the neurons in the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for memory). This also allows us to learn faster and become smarter as we age.
Therefore, we can observe how the regular practice of positivity, which perhaps some people might have considered insignificant, has so much impact and importance to our quality of life and longevity.
It’s a fact that positivity improves the quality of our relationships. Positive people are happier, more successful in their relationships, careers, marriages and have better physical, mental and social health.