Optimists are twice as likely as pessimists to be in ideal cardiovascular health. This finding resulted from a recent study led by Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois. The association between optimism and heart health remains significant, even after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and poor mental health.
Optimists are those who explain positive events as having happened because of them. They also see them as evidence that more positive things will happen in their lives in future. Conversely, they see negative events as not being their fault or as flukes that have nothing to do in their lives in future. Pessimists are those who think in the opposite way.
Psychologists advise us to be optimists and think positive, no matter what happens. People who look at a glass of water and see it as half-full are two times more likely than their ‘glass-half-empty’ counterparts to be in good cardiovascular health, according to findings recently published.
Heart disease is today the leading cause of death in the world. What can you do to keep your heart healthy and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease? Traditionally, the emphasis has been on healthy lifestyle choices based on diet, exercise, non-smoking, etc. that improve overall physical well-being.
But new research shows that your psychological state of mind significantly also impacts the health of your heart.
The University of Illinois study has found that individuals who had the highest levels of optimism were twice as likely to be in ideal cardiovascular health as their more pessimistic peers. This is the first study to examine the association between optimism and cardiovascular health in a large, ethnically and racially diverse population.
Participants’ cardiovascular health was assessed using seven metrics: blood pressure, body mass index, fasting plasma glucose, serum cholesterol levels, dietary intake, physical activity, and tobacco use. The association between optimism and cardiovascular health was even stronger when socio-demographic characteristics such as age, race, ethnicity, income and education status were factored into the equation.
Optimism and positive emotions also appear to slow the progression of heart disease. This happens regardless of such factors as a person’s age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, or body weight. For example, the most optimistic individuals had an approximately 50 percent reduced risk of experiencing an initial cardiovascular event compared to their less optimistic counterparts. Optimism and positive emotions apparently create an upward spiral of well-being.
But can optimism be learned and acquired? Through daily choices that include things like, maintaining a strong social network, physical activity, a sense of humor, mindfulness training, and loving-kindness meditation, it is believed that anyone can rewire his or her brain to be more optimistic, grateful, satisfied, and upbeat — while simultaneously becoming less hostile, stressed, and depressed.
There is one important caveat in advocating optimism — no one expects you to be a Pollyanna in one day. What is necessary is a dose of “pragmatic optimism”.
But my question is, “While we talk of optimism and pessimism isn’t there room for “realists” like me?” In fact, believe me, most of the things in life I have feared have happened (except the sudden, untimely death of my young jewel son Melvin which came like a bolt from the blue).
Notwithstanding that scientific studies sing paeans about optimism, let’s remember one thing: we are not the sovereign masters of our fate. Only God is sovereign. His sovereign control is called “providence”. He has chosen to give us a free will, and He has created a moral universe in which the law of cause-and-effect is a reality. But God is God alone, and there are no “accidents” in the universe.
An all-wise, all-powerful God must have a plan, so it should be no surprise that the Holy Book speaks of a divine plan. God’s plan, since it belongs to God, is holy, wise, and benevolent. The providence of God is working to bring about His original plan for creation, despite our humble efforts to clump ourselves as optimists, pessimists or realists.
(Dr. Francisco Colaço is a senior consulting physician, pioneer of Echocardiography in Goa, column writer, singer/songwriter/music aficionado, Mando exponent, past president of the state IMA, social activist, popular orator and toastmaster, family man, with deep faith in God.)
