A cutting from The Times of India - Optimists may live longer. Researchers have found that of nearly 7,000 adults followed since their college days in the 1960s, those who were optimistic in their youth had a lower risk of dying over the next 40 years than their more pessimistic peers.

Optimists are less likely to suffer from depression than pessimists which could, in turn, affect their physical health. they may also maintain a healthier lifestyle, paying more attention to their diet and exercise habits.

The findings are based on a 40 year follow up of 6,958 men and women who entered the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the mid 1960s. At the time they took a standard personality test to gauge a person’s tendency to be optimistic or pessimistic.

In general, optimists believe negative events are only temporary and don’t let them affect their overall attitude about themselves and the world.  Pessimists, however, take such events to heart, often blaming themselves and believing that the bad time will last forever.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 11:34 am and is filed under Inner Confidence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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