A new study suggests that being happy and carefree makes one live longer and become less prone to sickness.
Researchers from the University College London led by Andrew Steptoe recruited 3,199 participants, both men and women aged 60 and above. They were given questionnaires to assess their enjoyment of life. They were then categorized based on their response to statements like "I enjoy being in the company of others" and "I feel full of energy these days."
They found that people who are always happy and enjoy their lives become sick less often, walk faster and maintain their ability to care for themselves.
During the eight-year follow-up period, the researchers aimed to know if two or more daily living activities were affected by how adults enjoy their lives.
Activities of daily life include dressing, bathing, eating, and walking without assistance.
They also took into consideration issues like clinical depression, implying that "the enjoyment of life is not simply the reverse of psychological distress."
After the assessment, they discovered that those who enjoy the life the most are the youngest, the married, the wealthiest, and the most educated.
Furthermore, the researchers implied that lower enjoyment of life can be associated with "smoking, physical inactivity and less than daily alcohol consumption."
Their analysis found out that 4.4 percent of the participants who highly enjoyed life, 11.7 percent of those who enjoyed life in the average, and 16.8 percent who less enjoyed life have developed two or more impaired daily living activities.
"An 80 percent increase in odds of acquiring two or more impairments in activities of daily living over eight years among people with low compared with high enjoyment of life is striking," wrote the researchers.
However, the researchers noted that the results of this study do not entail that reduced enjoyment of life is related to the future disability and mobility of older people.
This study was published in the Jan. 20 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
