Want to live healthier? See even more positive life and enjoy it, scientists advise. According to a new British study, people who enjoy life tend to live more years.
What did our health research show?
Researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of London (UCL), which published the study in the British Medical Journal, followed more than 9,000 men and women with an average age of 63. The processing of the data showed that the longer a person felt happy with his life, the more many years can live. This new study confirms similar findings from previous research, which show that life satisfaction is linked to longevity.
How the research was done
Every two years, during the four years 2002-2006, the researchers asked the volunteers who participated in the survey about the pleasures of their lives, how much they enjoyed the company of others and how happy they were with their daily activities. Nearly 24% volunteers said they were unhappy with their lives, 20% reported enjoyment in one of three cases, 22% in two cases and 34% said they enjoyed their lives completely. Over the next 7 years, from 2006 to 2013, 1,310 participants died.
Results
The investigation found that the risk of death from any cause decreases by 24% at a depth of seven years to those who feel great pleasure in their lives compared to those who state that they had no enjoyment.
The study also found that women were more likely than men to be satisfied with their lives, as were married people, the most educated, the most financially well-off, the youngest and those with jobs.