Always Look On the Bright Side of Life?

A long-term investigation on circa 230 US males on the Veterans Affairs Normative Ageing Study confirmed earlier findings, that optimists tend to have longer and healthier lives than pessimists (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/07/reasons-to-be-cheerful-optimists-live-longer-says-study). The study subjects were at least 21 years of age, when they enrolled in the exercise, between 1961 and 1970. Surveys, carried in the 1980s and 1990s, assessed the subject's optimism. Longevities were determined between 2002 and 2010. The 'glass half full' folk, in deed, tended to live longer and to have fewer medical issues, than their 'glass half empty' counterparts. It had been thought that this might be because optimists 'bounce back' more quickly after unavoidable stress. There was actually little difference in recovery by optimists and pessimists. The optimists, however, experienced fewer daily stresses. They didn't let events (like traffic jams) 'get to them'. Optimists also avoided trivial arguments. The researchers think a reduction in total stress accounted for their increased longevity and better health. No comparable studies have been carried out on females but, it is thought, that a 'sunny outlook' would also benefit them. This optimism lark is, however, currently very hard work!