Thinking positively could mean better heart health and prolonged life

Here’s new research that may inspire a more positive outlook this week: An optimistic attitude could protect against heart disease and early death. Researchers looked at 15 studies with data from nearly 230,000 individuals and found that those who reported feeling optimistic about life and responded positively to events had about a 35% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than their pessimistic counterparts. Optimists were also less likely to have died during the study follow-up period of at least a decade than those who were more likely to have pessimistic thoughts. The results add to a growing body of evidence that optimism may mean good things for health: Just last month, scientists also reported that optimists were more likely to live past the age of 85.