Research: Satisfied people live longer
If life has brought you what you wanted, your chance of dying is lower – and therefore you will probably live longer – than if you are dissatisfied with what life has given you so far.
Korean epidemiologists at Yonsei University discovered the link between longevity and life satisfaction when they followed 55 people over the age of XNUMX for more than ten years.
Young elderly
The researchers built on the work of the American psychologist Bernice Neugarten. Neugarten studied psychological processes in older adults. She is the creator of the term young elderly – the over-55s who become more socially and culturally active as the end of their social career comes into view. They start living healthier, read more, take courses or join a political party. For the 'young elderly' a new phase of life begins.
In 1961 Neugarten designed the life satisfaction index. [J Gerontol. 1961 Apr;16:134-43.] That was a questionnaire that psychologists can use to measure how satisfied the elderly are with their lives.
Study
The Koreans used an adapted version of the questionnaire and in 1994 surveyed about two thousand people over the age of 55. The list included statements such as "If I could live my life over again, I wouldn't change a thing" and "I got everything I wanted in my life." The over-55s had to indicate to what extent they agreed with these statements.
Results
In 2005, 11 years later, the researchers looked to see which of the participants were still alive. For example, they were able to find out that a high degree of life satisfaction in men and women reduced the risk of death. The effect was particularly strong among women.
Satisfaction with life mainly protected the health of the heart and blood vessels, but the Koreans do not rule out that the positive effect of life satisfaction also extends to other systems.
Conclusion
“Further studies are necessary to describe the relationship between life satisfaction and mortality risk for a wider range of diseases,” say the researchers.
Source: BMC Public Health. 2012 Jan 19;12:54 – Ergonomics