Happiness May Bring Better Health Upbeat Outlook Reaps
Biological Benefits, Says Study April 18, 2005 -- There's new
evidence that happiness and health may overlap. In a recent
study of British civil servants, the happiest participants had
lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Their hearts kept a
mellower pace than those of less happy participants, and they
didn't flip out as much during a mental stress test. Happiness
might even hedge against heart disease, suggests the study in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Under stress,
the happiest participants had lower increases of plasma
fibrinogen, a sign of inflammation that can predict heart
disease. "Our findings indicate that positive affective states
are related to favorable profiles of functioning in several
biological systems and may thereby be relevant to risk of
development of physical illness," says the study. Translation:
Being happy may be good for your physical health. Homing In on
Happiness Participants were 216 government emplo