Thinking positively has more benefits than just making you more appealing to others. Sure, no one wants to hang out with a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy. Self-criticism and complaints, on the other hand, hurt more than just your social life. Such cognitive patterns may have a significant effect on your health and well-being.
Take, for instance, how your muscles get stiff, your eating habits can shift, your sex drive may drop drastically, and you fall into patterns of depression or anxiety when you’re feeling a bit down or stressed out.
Conversely, happier and more rational beliefs will mean that you enjoy a longer, more balanced life. There are a whole host of positive things that come from being a positive thinker. Let’s go through the health benefits of positive thinking in order to help you appreciate its significance.
It is important to understand that having a positive attitude may not directly cure disease or any other illness but it will help you get through it and certainly aid the body’s natural abilities to heal itself. Being positive helps you to be more in touch with your body and know what it is telling you.
Better Heart Health
Negativity and stress affect the heart’s capacity to pump and lead to cardiac problems. Making a routine practice of positive thought actually has been shown to lower heart risks like stroke or heart attack.
When you’re usually happier and more confident, you prefer to participate in healthy activities that add to the vitality of your heart, such as physical exercise and eating well.
Improved Immunity
There is plenty of evidence that depression, anger, and other negative emotions can have a profound negative impact on the body. But this is not the case when it comes to positive emotions.
A new study shows that positive emotions can have a great effect on the immune system. The researchers defined positive emotions as “a psychological state characterized by high levels of positive emotions, subjective well-being, and a high level of functioning.”
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Stress takes a toll on how the body copes with illness and other risks. The wear and tear of ongoing worry leave your immune system weakened and helpless. Positive thought holds tension at bay. Being happy will also improve your immune system, allowing you to fend off illness and live a healthier life.
Live Longer
Yep, research has shown that it’s possible to prolong your life through the power of looking on the bright side. In one study, participants who perceived aging in a positive light lived on average 7.5 years longer than those who were more pessimistic about getting older.
This showed to be a bigger increase than the average four years added life expectancy that comes with lowering cholesterol and decreasing blood pressure. That’s quite an important finding with amazing results about the value of accepting optimistic thoughts.
Become More Resilient
Resiliency is the capacity to bounce right back from life stressors. Resilient people cope with events like disaster and death with positive coping mechanisms and in ways that allow them to move forward positively with their lives.
Many that don’t possess this trait are more likely to languish in a weakened state such as depression or addiction when faced with harsh circumstances. When you possess a positive outlook, you appear to be more resilient, and your self-talk is beneficial to your situation, pushing you to step beyond the present challenge instead of immersing yourself in the emotional pain. The overall life benefits of resiliency can be transformative.
As you can see, the health effects of positive thinking are very significant. The studies and effort researchers have put into this subject shows its significance and relevance to health. You will greatly change your entire life only by making concerted efforts to turn your thoughts and beliefs around. That certainly seems worth the effort.
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