Does happiness help one live longer? Studies have shown the answer! Tune in to this episode to find out!  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and in my research on the correlation between gratitude and happiness I came across an article in Positive Psychology that summarizes research on happy people living longer and one particular study about nuns has me intrigued… so I’m going to give you the high level cliff notes here and link in the show notes.

The question is:  Does the happier you are, correlate to the longer you live? Yoichi Chida and Andrew Steptoe (2008) attempted to answer this question.

What we know is that happiness does positively affect longevity, for everyone whether they are healthy or sick. (Carr, 2011).

Healthy population studies have found that when participants exhibited a positive affect, like joy, happiness, energy and vigor, life satisfaction, optimism, and a sense of humor – there was a lower mortality rate (Carr, 2011).

Other researchers have done similar work and the Danner study is what has me fascinated. They completed a large follow-back study with 180 nuns in the US. All of the nuns had a similar lifestyle, diet, and schedule.

The nun participants wrote essays as they entered into their religious order. They wrote about themselves and their life from childhood to present day, and their hopes and dreams for their lives.

The nuns were completely unaware that their essays would be analyzed for a happiness and longevity study. The researchers found that, about 50 years later, 90% of the happiest nuns lived past 85 (years old), and only 34% who scored as the least happy lived past 85.

We can see that happiness can increase our longevity. However, what are the factors that determine happiness?

We’ve talked about how genetics play a part in our happiness. And circumstances come next. But we have this remaining percentage in our happiness bucket that we get to influence. And that’s where the magic is.

This knowledge is an incredible gift because it indicates that we get to be an active participant in determining our future and it’s not purely left to chance.

While there are different ways to boost happiness, one way for sure, is to be intentional and invite more happiness into your world through gratitude. 

Today, I am grateful for you, listening to this episode.  If you feel called to be a part of this happiness movement, share this episode with 5 friends, I would be honored and you will get a little kindness boost.  Know that wherever you are, I’m thanking you for helping spread the word. Tag me on social @everydayhappinesswithkatie 

And remember, kindness is contagious.  

Inspiration for this episode and the research mentioned comes from an article from Positive Psychology.  

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