Think positive to help your heart

Perhaps we should all follow Grammy award-winning musician Bobby McFerrin’s advice: “Don’t worry, be happy!”

Many experts have long believed that optimists are more likely than pessimists to be in good health, but they haven’t been able to pin down why happiness and health seem so strongly linked.

A new study suggests a possible answer. Researchers in England found that adults who reported upbeat moods have lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in their bodies. Doctors believe cortisol may contribute to high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and lowered immunity.

The study also found that among women (but not men), those who reported feeling more positive had lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6), two proteins in blood that are indicators of bodywide inflammation. Inflammation is thought to play a key role in the development and progression of heart disease.

Does happier = healthier?
Andrew Steptoe, MD, of University College London, and his colleagues studied nearly 3,000 adults age 50 to 74 to see whether happiness and well-being were associated with the level of cortisol in their saliva at four different times during the day. Each time their cortisol levels were checked, study subjects also reported their current mood. It turned out that people whose moods were happier had lower levels of cortisol. The cortisol-mood connection held even when researchers took into account differences in the subjects’ age, weight, smoking habits, and income status.

On a different day, doctors measured participants’ levels of inflammatory markers IL-6 and CRP. They found that people reporting greater feelings of well-being had lower levels of these inflammatory proteins in their blood. Taken together, says Dr. Steptoe, the studies’ findings support the idea that a happier state of mind may be key to triggering our bodies’ health-protecting response.