9.2: Positive Psychology & Health
- Page ID
- 206282
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)How can positive emotions improve our physical wellness?
Typically, illness manifests through general complaints (such as self-reported symptoms), specific physical symptoms, observable bodily damage, the presence of pathogenic agents (e.g., viruses, bacteria), diagnosed conditions, impaired daily activities, or a shortened lifespan.
Health is more than just not being sick, according to the World Health Organization¹². It encompasses complete physical, mental, and social well-being, along with factors like spiritual health, occupational satisfaction, safety, and life balance. Interestingly, these broader aspects of wellness are often overlooked in health outcome studies.
Superior health can be recognized by several indicators, such as experiencing fewer and shorter bouts of illness, quicker healing of wounds, enhanced ability to recover from physical challenges, and possessing greater physiological capacity.
History of Illness
Throughout history, the approach to illness has evolved through three major eras. Initially, the focus was primarily on treating individuals once they became ill. This approach lasted until the mid 19th century.
The introduction of Germ Theory marked a shift towards prevention. This era saw the implementation of practices such as surgeon handwashing, food inspection, and advancement in medicine aimed at eliminating disease-causing pathogens.
In more recent times, there has been a growing emphasis on health promotion. Recognizing that health encompasses more than just avoiding germs, peple are encouraged to take proactive steps to maintain well-being. This includes engaging in fitness activities, monitoring blood pressure, enhancing resilience to stress, and building overall physical and mental health.
An important aspect to consider is the shift in causes of death from the past to the present. Today, our leading causes of death include heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases — conditions that typically progress slowly compared to infectious diseases like influenza, pneumonia, and plague, which historically led to quicker mortality. The chronic nature of these illnesses prompts important questions about quality of life. As a result, psychologists are studying whether attitudes and health behaviors can significantly impact the management and potential alleviation of these conditions. Dr. Sarah Pressman and Dr. Sheldon Cohen discuss positive affect and its relationship to disease in their paper titled Does positive affect influence health?¹³
Health Practices
Maintaining a positive outlook enhances the likelihood of adopting healthy habits like regular exercise and a nutritious diet rich in fruits and vegetables. It also reduces the tendency to engage in risky behaviors. On the other hand, stress and anxiety often lead to behaviors such as consuming junk food, smoking, and experiencing difficulty sleeping.
The mind-body connection has been debated for centuries. Aristotle viewed the mind and body as interconnected, whereas Descartes proposed they are separate entities. Recent research confirms that the brain and body communicate extensively, highlighting their intertwined influence on health and well-being.
There are entire fields dedicated to exploring this topic. Health Psychology applies psychological theories to physical health. Behavioral Medicine expands medical approaches to include psychological factors in health and illness. Psychoneuroimmunology/Psychoneuroendocrinology investigates how psychological, neurological, and immunological/hormonal factors interact with each other.
In 1975, Dr. Ader and Dr. Cohen¹⁴ conducted a study where they trained rats to drink sugar water paired with an immune-suppressing drug. After conditioning, even when the rats drank sugar water without the drug, their immune systems remained suppressed. This study demonstrated that learning can impact the immune system. Consider how these findings relate to the placebo effect.
In an experiment led by Dr. Mark Schaller and colleagues (2010)¹⁵, researchers found that observing the symptoms of a sick individual leads to a more aggressive immune response in their own immune system.
Is there Evidence that Happiness Improves Immunity?
Numerous studies demonstrate connections between positive emotions and the immune system. These studies have shown immune changes resulting from activities such as watching funny movies, listening to happy music, undergoing hypnosis to induce happiness, and self-reporting feelings of happiness. These immune-related outcomes include effects on allergy responses, vaccine responses, and changes in immune cell levels in blood and saliva samples.
Positive emotion has been linked to accelerated wound healing. Research conducted by Robles, Brooks, and Pressman (2009)¹⁶ revealed that for every unit increase in positive affect (PA), there was approximately a 1% increase in wound recovery within the first hour (p = .04). Interestingly, there was no significant relationship observed between negative affect (NA) and skin barrier recovery. Additionally, these effects were not attributed to baseline differences in skin function, as neither positive nor negative affect were associated with basal skin function.
In another study examining happiness and its impact on susceptibility to colds, participants were exposed to cold viruses and interviewed regularly. Researchers sought to determine whether individuals reporting higher levels of positive emotions were less likely to develop cold symptoms compared to those reporting lower levels of positivity. The findings indicated that individuals with higher levels of positive emotions had a reduced risk of catching a cold (Cohen et al., 2003)¹⁷.
Changes in immunity occur through the action of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones increase during periods of stress and can suppress the immune system. The reason behind this suppression is that elevated levels of stress hormones can hinder the immune system's ability to function effectively.
When you experience positive emotions, the levels of these stress hormones tend to decrease. This reduction in stress hormones allows your immune system to operate more efficiently. Similarly, positive emotions not only impact immune function but also have the potential to influence cardiovascular function.
Cardiovascular Function
You can easily influence your own heart rate. While exercise is known to raise your heart rate, what may surprise you is that positive emotions can also have a similar effect.
Activity: Let’s see how this works:
- What is your pulse?
- Each heartbeat generates a wave of pressure as blood moves through the arteries. This pressure wave can be felt as a pulse where arteries are closest to the skin's surface. In adults, a normal resting pulse ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute.
- Tip: Use your fingers when finding a pulse. Don’t use your thumb, as it has its own pulse. For more detailed information on finding your pulse, check out this wikiHow article on How to Check Your Pulse¹⁸.
- Record the rate, strength, and rhythm of your pulse.
- Now, watch and follow this Gratitude Meditation with Deepak Chopra¹⁹.
- As soon as the meditation is over, take your heart rate again.
- Compare the difference in heart rate.
Laughter
Laughter Yoga, also known as Hasyayoga, involves self-induced laughter that is purely physical and does not depend on humor or comedy. This practice was developed by Indian guru Jiten Kohi.
Laughter is often called "the best medicine". It relaxes the entire body by relieving physical tension and stress, with its effects lasting up to 45 minutes afterward. Studies have shown that laughter can even open up arteries and reduce blood pressure.
Furthermore, laughter boosts the immune system by decreasing stress hormones and increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thereby enhancing resistance to disease. It also triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, promoting an overall sense of well-being and offering temporary pain relief.
In terms of cardiovascular health, laughter improves the function of blood vessels and enhances blood flow. These effects can contribute to protecting the heart against conditions like heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues.
Take a look at this article by U.S. News on how Laughter Can Boost Heart Health²⁰.
These changes in heart rate are significant because they can predict your future health. The way your heart functions when you are young can predict your risk of developing conditions like hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease later in life. Studies have shown that even the way your heart responds to stress in a controlled laboratory setting can predict these health outcomes approximately 20 years later.
Morbidity
Positive emotions are linked to improved health outcomes, reducing the likelihood of various morbidities such as stroke, accidents among teenagers, falls in the elderly, re-hospitalization after heart surgery, and even susceptibility to the common cold.
In a study by Dr. Danner, Dr. Snowden, and Dr. Friesen (2001)²¹, 180 Catholic nuns wrote autobiographies at age 22, which were later analyzed for positive emotion content. Over the next six decades, they were monitored to study mortality rates and other life outcomes, with the autobiographies coded for the frequency and variety of positive emotion words used. The study found that positive emotions expressed in autobiographies written in early life were strongly linked to longer life spans six decades later.
In a similar study, Dr. Sarah Pressman and Dr. Sheldon Cohen (2012)²² examined the use of positive emotion words and longevity among renowned deceased psychologists. Their findings indicated that using more activated positive emotional words (such as lively, vigorous, attentive, humorous) was linked to longer lifespans.
Limitations in the Field
There are certain challenges in the field regarding the directionality of associations. It's debated whether positive emotions lead to better health or if good health leads to greater happiness. The likely answer is that both relationships exist simultaneously.
To address this in research, experimental studies and longitudinal prospective research designs are used. These methods help to understand the complex interactions between positive emotions, health outcomes, and happiness over time.
Positive emotions do not always guarantee life-saving benefits, especially when considering survival outcomes in deadly diseases. Existing studies on survival outcomes lack consistency, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. Overall, positive emotions have shown varying effects: diseases with longer prognoses tend to correlate with increased survival rates, while diseases with high short-term mortality rates do not consistently benefit from positive emotions.
When tumor cells are already replicating at a high rate or when a kidney has failed, it's crucial to be realistic. At these advanced stages, while happiness may enhance quality of life, it typically does not affect life expectancy.
Culture in Positive Health
The role of culture in the positive health connection has largely been overlooked in health psychology, but there is a growing awareness of its importance. For example, research has shown that not all positive variables impact health in different cultures (Wiley et al., 2022)²³. In the cited study, we found that among African Americans (AA), there was a slight increase (0.08) in the incidence of colds compared to European Americans (EA) when positive emotional style (PES) was kept constant. This means PES had less impact on preventing colds for AA compared to EA individuals. However, we did not find a significant effect between race and negative emotional style (NES) in relation to cold incidence. Furthermore, among AAs, there was a 0.60 increase in the incidence of colds compared to EAs when self-esteem was held constant. This means that higher self-esteem was associated with a greater likelihood of getting sick for AAs, whereas for EAs, higher self-esteem was linked to a lower likelihood of getting sick.
Watch Dr. Sarah Pressman share research on why doctors should care about happiness in their patients²⁴, a video uploaded by TEDx Talks on YouTube.
Read this brief article by Dr. Sarah Pressman and Dr. Sheldon Cohen on Positive Affect and Health²⁵, published in the Current Directions in Psychological Science Journal
Attribution
¹²Constitution of the World Health Organization. (1948, April 7). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution
¹³Pressman, S. D., & Cohen, S. (2005). Does positive affect influence health? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 925–971. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.925
¹⁴Ader, R., & Cohen, N. (1975). Behaviorally conditioned immunosuppression. Psychosomatic medicine, 37(4), 333-340.
¹⁵Schaller, M., Miller, G. E., Gervais, W. M., Yager, S., & Chen, E. (2010). Mere visual perception of other people’s disease symptoms facilitates a more aggressive immune response. Psychological Science, 21(5), 649-652. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610368064
¹⁶Robles, T. F., Brooks, K. P., & Pressman, S. D. (2009). Trait positive affect buffers the effects of acute stress on skin barrier recovery. Health Psychology, 28(3), 373–378. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014662
¹⁷Cohen, S., Doyle, W. J., Turner, R. B., Alper, C. M., & Skoner, D. P. (2003). Emotional style and susceptibility to the common cold. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(4), 652-657. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.PSY.0000077508.57784.DA
¹⁸Kramer, E. (2023, December 19). How to Check Your Pulse: 10 Steps (with Pictures). wikiHow. https://www.wikihow.com/Check-Your-Pulse
¹⁹mentalgatecoaching. (2007, November 11). Gratitude Meditation—Relax with Deepak Chopra. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIXIwdhOmSM
²⁰Laughter Can Boost Heart Health. (2009, May 29). US News & World Report. https://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/heart/articles/2009/05/29/laughter-can-boost-heart-health
²¹Danner, D. D., Snowdon, D. A., & Friesen, W. V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(5), 804–813. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804
²²Pressman, S. D., & Cohen, S. (2012). Positive emotion word use and longevity in famous deceased psychologists. Health Psychology, 31(3), 297–305. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025339
²³Wiley, C. R., Blevins, K. M., Cohen, S., & Pressman, S. D. (2022). Do Positive Psychological Factors Equally Predict Resistance to Upper Respiratory Infections in African and European Americans? Psychological Science, 33(9), 1509-1521. https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976221083322
²⁴TEDx Talks. (2015, July 7). Why Doctors Should Care About Happiness. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/IqiGL4e_c30?si=dvHG97jal_lyWcBm
²⁵Cohen, S., & Pressman, S. D. (2006). Positive Affect and Health. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(3), 122-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00420.x