Scientists explore how happiness might help our resistance to disease
Hong Kong-funded researchers out to unravel the mysteries of happiness, and find the link between positive emotions and good health. Their findings could help protect us against major illness
Everyone, from Aristotle to The Beatles and the Dalai Lama to Coca-Cola, seems to have a take on what happiness is. But while these ideas on happiness have traditionally been rather ethereal, in recent times the subject has turned scientific, attracting the attention of researchers seeking to unravel its mysteries – in particular, the link between positive emotions and good health.
Could being optimistic mean fewer colds and less heart disease? Does a sense of enthusiasm for life protect against hypertension and diabetes? Do happier people live longer, and, if so, why?
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These questions – and many more – are on the minds of researchers, including Laura Kubzansky, a professor of social and behavioural science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Studies have shown conditions that may be directly or indirectly affected by emotional well-being include some of the world’s biggest killers, such as heart disease, obesity, hypertension, smoking-related diseases, suicide, and conditions related to alcohol dependency and binge drinking.
A recent study published online in March in the journal BMC Public Health spanning 162 counties in mainland China found the connection between physical health and emotions, both positive and negative, was common across different levels of socio-economic development. This result supports other recent studies indicating that emotional states affect health independently of country-level gross domestic product.