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A positive attitude is good for your health.
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A good mood not only influences how you feel today, it can have a powerful impact on your health for years to come.
Scientists urge us to be as attentive to our moods and attitudes as we are to our physical health. Two recent studies underscore the importance of that advice.
A paper in Current Directions in Psychological Science notes that a positive attitude can protect against poor health later in life and may be a powerful antidote to stress, pain and illness.
Another study, published in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, found that happy people tend to live longer and experience better health than their unhappy peers.
"Happiness is no magic bullet," says University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener, the lead author, "but the evidence is clear and compelling that it changes your odds of getting disease or dying young."
Eating well, exercising, not smoking and getting enough sleep help keep you healthy, but how do you develop a positive attitude?
Here are six mood boosters to make the world look rosier. Add them to your life, and odds are you'll feel both happier and healthier. If you rarely walk on the sunny side of the street, now's the time to cross over.
1. Adopt an Animal Companion
Gary Seymour with his Staffordshire terrier, Buddy, at their Los Angeles-area home.
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Pets provide more than companionship and a warm welcome home. They lend a willing and helpful ear — even if they have fins or feathers instead of fur.
Many pet owners confide in a pet because pets don't judge, condemn or talk back. Studies have found that dog owners are often as emotionally close to their pets as to their closest family members
An astonishing 97 percent of dog and cat owners reported that they talk to their pets, notes Alan Beck, director of the Center of the Human Animal Bond at Purdue University. "The other 3 percent lied," he quips.
People talk to their pets because they don't have to worry about what they say or worry about the response."Just as it's more relaxing to walk in a park than a parking lot, it's more relaxing to be with an animal than to be alone. It's as calming as looking at a sunset." says Beck.
If you'd like to have a pet in your life but don't want the responsibility of owning a dog or cat, you can volunteer at an animal shelter or zoo, offer to walk a neighbor's dog on a regular basis, set up an aquarium, consider a parakeet or put out bird feeders.
The Health Benefits of Listening to Music
Music lessens anxiety before surgery, promotes healing and reduces the levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol. (Higher levels of cortisol can lead to a decreased immune response.) Music can also lower blood pressure, reduce arthritis pain and speed post-stroke recovery.
2. Turn Up the Music
Music can reduce arthritis pain, lower blood pressure and promote healing.
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Even before we're born, we can hear music, and it holds us in its power throughout life.
Soothing, melodic music blunts stress and provides comfort. Bright, upbeat tunes set toes tapping and boost flagging energy. Relaxing music serves as an easy and safe way to improve sleep. Music helps keep both mind and body healthy and resilient,and it activates specific brain regions involved in emotion and memory.
"If you listen to a song that triggers a memory from your past, it evokes generally positive visual and emotional memories," says Petr Janata, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of California, Davis. He suggests listening to familiar music that you know puts you in a good mood. "Up-tempo, bright and cheery music is always a good bet," he says. "It will help you get out of bed in the morning in a good mood.
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