5 Ways Positive Thinking Improves Your Health
How Does Positive Thinking Improve Your Health?
When people hear that they should start thinking more positive, they often immediately think about the mental health benefits and assume that’s where the benefits end. What many people don’t know is that thinking positively affects much more than just our mental health.
Positive thinking is also able to improve your physical health. In this article, we are going to look at five ways positive thinking improves your physical health.
- Positive Thinking Protects Your Heart
According to the American Heart Association, investigations have shown that people who are more optimistic have up to a seventy-five percent lower risk of experiencing heart disease than those who have a negative attitude.
Another study that was done in Denmark showed that of those who did experience a heart disease, those with a positive attitude were forty-two percent less likely to die over a five-year period than those who had a negative attitude. This is believed to be true because people with positive attitudes are more likely to exercise more frequently. People who exercise on a regular basis are less likely to experience heart health problems.
- Positive Thinking Improves Your Nerve Function
Your Vagus nerve is the main nerve in the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the nervous system that is responsible for helping you relax. When you are exercising positive thought, you are exercising this nerve as well as the nerves it connects to. This stimulates the growth of nerve connections, which can help you, heal from injury faster.
- Positive Thinking Increases Your Pain Tolerance
According to a study that was published in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine, those who have a more positive outlook on life experience an increased pain tolerance. Researchers aren’t completely sure why those who think more positively can handle pain more efficiently. However, they conclude it has to do with mind over matter. When you have a more positive outlook on life, you are also going to release endorphins, which can temporarily reduce pain.
- Positive Thinking Boosts Your Immunity
An editorial published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine said that laughter might reduce stress as well as increase the immunity of cells. The article stated that laughter could improve the function of your blood vessels and increases blood flow, which results in an increase in immune cells and antibodies that fight off diseases. This leads to an improved resistance to disease and illness.
- Positive Thinking Contributes To Longevity:
A study that was conducted at the University of London was able to determine that elderly people who had a tendency to think in a more positive manner, had a longer life expectancy than those who tended to see everything in a negative light. This is thought to be because elderly people who have a positive outlook on life are also more likely to eat better, exercise and not engage in unhealthy habits such as drinking alcohol and smoking.
As a bonus being more positive is also beneficial to your social health because when you are a positive person, people want to be around you more and see you as a great person to interact with.
You are also more likely to be able to accomplish more and do more in your life since having a positive mindset also leads to increased levels of happiness.
As you can see, there are some amazing wellness benefits that come with possessing a more positive mindset. Not only are you going to have the advantage of a better pain tolerance and boosted immunity, but you are also going to experience better nerve function, less heart disease and the ability to live life, not only longer, but also healthier and happier.
Do you like to hang out with positive people?