Optimists have better chances of being pessimistic to live longer, researchers found in the study.People who view life positively have better prospects for reaching the age of 85 or older, and researchers suggest other factors play a role in longevity.
The researchers published their findings Monday in the Journal of Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences.
The researchers, led by Lewina Lee of Boston University School of Medicine, relied on two databases containing the pathological biography of staff in some functional groups.
In this way, the researchers obtained information about the health status and lifestyle of some 70,000 nurses and 1,429 veterans.
The analysis of the data shows that the most optimistic group of women lived 15% longer than the pessimistic participants.
In analyzing the data, the researchers ensured that the group of women in the analysis had common demographic factors and had previously been ill.
Optimistic men extended their lives by up to 11% compared to pessimists.
The chance of reaching the most optimistic group of women aged 85 or older increased by 50% compared to the more pessimistic women, while the difference between the most optimistic men and the less optimistic men was 70%.
During the study, the researchers divided women into four groups, starting from very optimistic and ending with very pessimistic. The researchers divided the men into five of these groups.
Although optimism has some genetic causes, learning is possible, the researchers said.
The researchers identified the optimistic person as the human being who believes that good things will happen or the person who believes that the future is worth looking forward to because certain goals can be achieved in the future.