Healthy happiness

Happiness protects physical health and for that reason happy people live longer; the effect of happiness on longevity is comparable to smoking or not. See here for a review of follow-up research.

Confusion about this beneficial effect was created by a paper in the Lancet, which argued that happiness does not lower mortality 'by itself', that is, net of its effect on health. In the press this was wrongly interpreted as meaning that happiness does not lower mortality at all. It does, and does so though its effect on health.

       

Published on 01-05-2016