Optimistic women may live longer

When asked about their secret to aging, the world’s oldest people often bring up not sweating the small stuff. In fact, optimism is associated with greater personal happiness, but could it impart biological benefits as well? Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health suggest it’s possible in a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

They analyzed data from more than 70,000 women between 2004 and 2012. Optimistic women, they found, are considerably less likely to die from a handful of diseases than their pessimistic counterparts, possibly in part because of reduced inflammation.

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