sunset on water
text size:  normal   larger
A happiness that is sought for ourselves alone can never be found: for a happiness that is diminished by being shared is not big enough to make us happy.

THOMAS MERTON
Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

Happiness

In 2000 the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota published a study that had followed 839 patients who had been classified as optimists or pessimists based on standardized personality tests given to them in the early 1960’s. The study followed their lives over the course of thirty years, and thirty years later significantly more optimists were still alive than pessimists. In 1998 another study gave provocative evidence that positive emotions might actually undo cardiovascular stress triggered by negative emotions. The famous nun study published in 2001 focused on Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline in a group of Sisters of Notre Dame. It was discovered that nuns who expressed happiness, contentment, and overall optimism lived on average 8.9 years longer than those with restricted emotional expression. The longest study of aging in the world, the Study of Adult Development at Harvard University, published in 2002 selected 824 subjects as adolescents and followed them throughout their life-span to learn about successful aging. Here too positive attitude and coping style made an impressive difference in longevity and quality of life.

It was discovered that nuns who expressed happiness, contentment, and overall optimism lived on average 8.9 years longer than those with restricted emotional expression. Positive emotions, such as happiness, have an important role in evolution.

In all of these studies happy people had better health habits, lower blood pressure, and stronger immune systems. Happy people were more cognizant of health risks and took steps to avoid those risks (smoking, alcoholism, poor eating habits). They showed more motivation for exercise and positive socialization. Furthermore, happy people made better choices about what brings pleasure and gratification. Many older adults find themselves in front of the television for a great many hours of the day and night. The television offers the illusion of companionship and engagement. However, studies show that the average mood while watching television is mild depression. It is a difficult habit to break because it seems easier than reading a book, an activity with a high satisfaction correlation and one that has shown to have positive effects on memory and cognitive functioning.

Positive emotions, such as happiness, have an important role in evolution. They broaden our intellectual, physical and social resources, building up reserves we can draw upon when a threat or opportunity presents itself. When we are in a good mood people like us better, making friendship and love easier to foster and maintain. Being constricted by negative emotion decreases tolerance and creativity. One’s level of happiness and optimism in later life are essential to the physical and social adjustments that must be made in aging. An ability to receive and accept new ideas and experiences is essential in moving freely from one stage of life to the next.