Bloomberg News
People who are naturally happy appear to have a lower risk of developing heart disease or dying from heart attacks, according to a 10-year study from Canada.
Those who scored the highest on a five-point scale measuring joy, happiness, excitement, enthusiasm and contentment were the least likely to have heart disease at the end of the study, according to the report in the European Heart Journal. The dispositions of the 1,739 volunteers were evaluated by nurses at the start of the 1995 Nova Scotia Health Survey and in 2005.
While positive emotions have been tied to a stronger immune system, less diabetes and higher survival rates, few studies examined whether it protects the heart, said Karina Davidson, director of the center for behavioral cardiovascular health at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. The results show increased levels of positive emotions, known as positive affect, are linked to a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease.
"Those with positive affect may have longer periods of rest or relaxation physiologically," Davidson, the lead author of the study, said in a statement. They "may recover more quickly from stressors, and may not spend as much time reliving them, which in turn seems to cause physiological damage. This is speculative, as we are just beginning to explore why positive emotions and happiness have positive health benefits."
The researchers ranked the 1,739 volunteers on a five-point happiness scale. For each one-level increase on the scale, which ranged from none to extreme, the risk of heart disease fell 22 percent, according to the study.
The study is one of the first to document an independent relationship between positive emotions and heart disease. While additional research is needed, the results suggest heart disease prevention may be helped by increasing positive feelings as well as reducing symptoms of depression, the researchers concluded.
"At this point, ordinary people can ensure they have some pleasurable activities in their daily lives," Davidson said. "Some people wait for their two weeks of vacation to have fun," she said. "Essentially, spending some few minutes each day truly relaxed and enjoying yourself is certainly good for your mental health, and may improve your physical health."
Studies are under way to determine if specific methods to improve mood and attitude in people who already have heart disease will also boost their health, wrote Bertram Pitt and Patricia Deldin, from the University of Michigan School of Medicine, in an editorial that accompanied the report.
"The 'vicious cycle' linking cardiovascular disease to major depression and depression to cardiovascular disease deserves greater attention," they wrote. If the findings stimulate additional work on the link between mental and physical heart health, perhaps it will be time for all of us to smile," they said.
