Heart Protection With Happiness
Perhaps there should be a stronger focus on maximizing the population's happiness, as findings showed happiness can lead to lower levels of a potentially dangerous stress chemical in the body.
In fact, happier people may be healthier both mentally and physically, compared to less happy people.
According to a study, when happier people experience stress, they have lower levels of chemicals in their bloodstream that indicate the presence of inflammation, which is an indicator of heart health.
Something to Smile About
The study involved 116 men and 100 women (ages 35-55) who were taking part in a major study on the various risk factors for coronary heart disease. Researchers carried out tests on the participants in three different settings:
- At work
- In the Lab
- During leisure time
Participants were asked whether or not they were happy at 33 moments during the day.
Researchers then evaluated how often people were happy in the course of the day. The results were adjusted according to age, gender, employment status, weight, smoking habits and stress levels.
Additionally, levels of the stress hormone cortisol -- linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and autoimmune disease -- were found to be 32 percent lower in people who reported more happy moments.
What researchers found particularly interesting, though, was that the association between happiness and biological responses was separate from psychological distress.
