Express..

 

In November 2016, the journal BMC Public Heath, published a study conducted in Finland over an eleven year period.  The study included 2,267 men and women. 121 of those men and women, who were identified as more pessimistic than the rest of the group, had died of coronary heart disease during the study’s eleven-year period.

The study concluded that pessimists were less inclined to healthy lifestyles and that optimists were more inclined towards healthier lifestyles. The study also found that pessimism impairs your immune system, while optimism, boosts your immune system.

So, in an effort to extend your life, here are some  strategies to help boost optimism:

• Express gratitude for three things that went right yesterday.  
• Volunteer for some noble cause a few hours every week. 
• Eat more vegetables.  By eating more vegetables (and also berries, nuts, seeds, olive oil, beans, cauliflower and yogurt), you are feeding your gut with good bacteria.  
• Exercise aerobically, 20 – 30 minutes every day. Aerobic exercise increases the release of endorphins, another feel good hormone.  
• Stop Multitasking. Multitasking taxes the brain. According to a University London study, multitasking impairs brain function by sapping the brain of energy (glucose)  
• Express love and compassion. This results in the release of oxytocin, a feel good hormone.