Optimism may promote emotional well-being by limiting how often one experiences stressful situations
Identifying psychosocial factors that could serve as treatment targets to promote living longer and in good health

Date:
March 7, 2022
Source:
Boston University School of Medicine
Summary:
'Don't worry, be happy,' is more than just song lyrics. A growing
body of evidence supports an association between optimism and
healthy aging, but it is unclear how optimism impacts health. When
it comes to dealing with day-to-day stressors, such as household
chores or arguments with others, a new study has found that being
more or less optimistic did not make a difference in how older men
emotionally reacted to or recovered from these stressors. However,
optimism appeared to promote emotional well- being by limiting
how often older men experience stressful situations or changing
the way they interpret situations as stressful.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== "Don't worry, be happy," is more than just song lyrics. A growing body
of evidence supports an association between optimism and healthy aging,
but it is unclear how optimism impacts health.


==========================================================================
When it comes to dealing with day-to-day stressors, such as household
chores or arguments with others, a new study has found that being
more or less optimistic did not make a difference in how older men
emotionally reacted to or recovered from these stressors. However,
optimism appeared to promote emotional well- being by limiting how
often older men experience stressful situations or changing the way they interpret situations as stressful.

"This study tests one possible explanation, assessing if more optimistic
people handle daily stress more constructively and therefore enjoy
better emotional well-being," said corresponding author Lewina Lee, PhD, clinical psychologist at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder at the VA Boston Healthcare System and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.

The researchers followed 233 older men who first completed an optimism questionnaire; 14 years later, they reported daily stressors along with positive and negative moods on eight consecutive evenings up to three
times over an eight-year span. The researchers found more optimistic
men reported not only lower negative mood but also more positive mood
(beyond simply not feeling negative). They also reported having fewer
stressors which was unrelated to their higher positive mood but explained
their lower levels of negative mood.

While studies have increasingly supported the idea of optimism as a
resource that may promote good health and longevity, we know very little
about the underlying mechanisms. "Stress, on the other hand, is known to
have a negative impact on our health. By looking at whether optimistic
people handle day-to-day stressors differently, our findings add to
knowledge about how optimism may promote good health as people age,"
says Lee.

These finding appear online in the Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Funding for this study was provided by the NIH (grant numbers
R01-AG053273, K08- AG048221, RF1-064006, R00-CA201542, UL1-TR001430, R01-AG018436); and a Senior Research Career Scientist Award from the
Clinical Science R&D Service, US Department of Veterans Affairs. The
Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study is a research component of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center
and is supported by the VA Cooperative Studies Program/ Epidemiological Research Centers.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Boston_University_School_of_Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Lewina O Lee, Francine Grodstein, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald,
Peter James,
Sakurako S Okuzono, Hayami K Koga, Joel Schwartz, Avron Spiro,
Daniel K Mroczek, Laura D Kubzansky. Optimism, Daily Stressors, and
Emotional Well-Being Over Two Decades in a Cohort of Aging Men. The
Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 2022; DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac025 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220307082334.htm

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