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How Being Happy Makes You Healthier

One long-term of 1,500 adults found that happiness helped protect against heart disease.

Happiness was associated with a 22% lower risk over the 10-year study period, even after risk
factors were accounted for, such as age, cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

It appears that happiness may also help protect people who already have heart disease. A
systematic review of 30 studies found that greater positive well-being in adults with established
heart disease lowered the risk of death by 11%.
It is important to note that some of these effects may have been due to an increase in
heart-healthy behaviors such as physical activity, avoiding smoking and healthy eating habits.

That said, not all studies have found associations between happiness and heart disease.

In fact, a recent study that looked at nearly 1,500 individuals over a 12-year period found no
association between positive well-being and the risk of heart disease.

Further high-quality, well-designed research is needed in this area.

SUMMARY:Being happier can help lower blood pressure, which may decrease the risk of heart
disease. However, more research is required.
May Lengthen Your Life Expectancy

Being happy may help you live longer.

A long-term study published in 2015 looked at the effect of happiness on survival rates in 32,000
people.

The risk of death over the 30-year study period was 14% higher in unhappy individuals compared
to their happier counterparts.
A large review of 70 studies looked at the association between positive well-being and longevity
in both healthy people and those with a pre-existing health condition, such as heart or kidney
disease.

Higher positive well-being was found to have a favorable effect on survival, reducing the risk of
death by 18% in healthy people and by 2% in those with pre-existing disease.

How happiness may lead to greater life expectancy is not well understood.

It may be partly explained by an increase in beneficial behaviors that prolong survival, such as
not smoking, engaging in physical activity, medication compliance, and good sleep habits and
practices.
SUMMARY:Happier people live longer. This may be because they engage in more
health-promoting behaviors, such as exercise.

May Help Reduce Pain

Arthritis is a common condition that involves inflammation and degeneration of the joints. It
causes painful and stiff joints, and generally worsens with age.

A number of studies have found that higher positive well-being may reduce the pain and
stiffness associated with the condition.