Being happier will help you live longer, so learn how to be happier

CNN — If you could wish for just one thing, would it be happiness or a long life? “Happiness comes in different sizes and flavors,” said cardiologist Dr. Alan Rozanski, a professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai who studies optimism. Satisfying social connections “People who are more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are happier, they’re physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected,” said Harvard psychiatrist Robert Waldinger in his popular TEDx talk. “They are better at what we call proactive coping, or anticipating problems and then proactively taking steps to fix them.” Whatever the reasons, a 2019 study of nearly 6,000 people from Harvard’s Health and Retirement study found optimists had a 24% increased likelihood of maintaining healthy aging. Instead, you need to feel you exist for something larger, and that very thought takes off some of the pressure.” Spirituality Studies by the Pew Research Center show that actively religious people are more likely than less- or non-religious people to describe themselves as “very happy.” They also share some traits that could improve their chance at a longer, happy life: They are less likely to smoke and drink, and more likely to join clubs and volunteer at charities.