How to live a healthy, long life ... stay positive

ALWAYS look on the bright side of life ... because it could help you to live longer.

Experts at Harvard found those with an optimistic outlook had a significantly reduced risk of dying from cancer, heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease and infection.

Researchers studied the health records of 70,000 women tracked for eight years, although they said their research was equally relevant to men.

Dr Eric Kim, who co-led the study, said: ‘While most medical and public health efforts today focus on reducing risk factors for diseases, evidence has been mounting that enhancing psychological resilience may also make a difference.’

His team, whose work is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, assessed participants’ outlook on life with a questionnaire. Their health was then monitored every two years.

The most optimistic women had a 16 per cent lower risk of dying from cancer, 38 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease, 39 per cent lower risk of dying from stroke, 38 per cent lower risk of dying from respiratory disease and 52 per cent lower risk of dying from infection.

Being optimistic reduces stress and anxiety hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, which can be a burden on the heart and raise blood pressure. Those who are less stressed have lower cholesterol levels and are less prone to inflammation.