The more moments of happiness you experience in life, the healthier you'll be

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The more moments of happiness you experience in life, the healthier

you'll be

19 Apr 2005 Medical News Today

Public health scientists at UCL have found that a happy state of mind

can lead to a healthier heart and lower levels of stress-inducing

chemicals. The research published online in Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on 18th April says that people

who have more moments of happiness over a day produce less harmful

chemicals such as cortisol and so are likely to be healthier long-

term and less likely to suffer from heart disease.

The research, part of the Whitehall II study, shows the health

effects of happiness by testing middle-aged Londoners - 116 men and

100 women - in a number of different situations including at work,

leisure and in a laboratory. The tests at work and during leisure

periods were performed regularly during the day and the subjects were

asked whether or not they were happy at these moments. Over a full

day, an average of happy moments was taken. The subjects ranged from

those who never felt happy to those who felt occasional happiness and

finally, those who felt happy most of the time.

Most people felt happiest during their leisure hours than at work.

However, those who were happiest overall experienced lower levels of

the stress hormone, salivary cortisol, during a working day than

those were rated themselves as happy less frequently. The results

were adjusted for gender, age, employment status, body mass index

(BMI), smoking, and psychological distress. Interestingly, in men,

happiness also had an impact on heart-rate - men who were happiest

had a lower heart rate (between 68 and 70 bpm) than those who had a

low rate of happiness (these men clocked in at over 76 bpm). The same

was not true for women. The main chemical difference in both men and

women who were generally unhappy and those who were more often happy

was the amount of the chemical plasma fibrinogen found in the blood

stream - a major predictor of cardiovascular disease risk.

Professor Steptoe led the study with Professor Sir

Marmot and Professor Jane Wardle from the psychobiology group at

UCL's Department of Epidemiology. Professor Steptoe said: " It has

been suspected for the last few years that happier people may be

healthier both mentally and physically than less happy people. What

this study shows is that there are plausible biological pathways

linking happiness with health. Cortisol has effects on a number of

bodily systems related to health, so the lower levels that we have

recorded during people's everyday lives are potentially important.

Fibrinogen is a substance that is directly related to risk of

coronary heart disease, and the finding that happier individuals have

lower fibrinogen responses to stress suggest that this could be a

mediating mechanism.

What we find particularly interesting is that the associations

between happiness and biological responses were independent of

psychological distress. We already know that depression and anxiety

are related to increased physical health risk. This study raises the

intriguing possibility that the effect of happiness may be somewhat

separate. "

The study is part of the major Whitehall II psychobiology study which

involves 10,308, London-based civil servants recruited between 1985

and 1988 when 35-55 years old to investigate the risk factors for

coronary heart disease. It has been funded by the Medical Research

Council and the British Heart Foundation.

The paper will appear online on Proceedings of the National Academy

of Sciences (PNAS) on 18th May.