Why wise people live longer ?

According to researches conducted by Becca Levy in the Ohio Longitudinal Study, one of the most surprising and significant findings is that “old people with a more positive attitude toward life would live seven and a half years longer” (Hall, 2007, para. 20). Why can this positive effect lead to better health and a longer life? This is because these older people with a positive attitude have the abilities to manage their emotions well, handle stress more properly and socialize better in society.

Firstly, the prime reason why older people with positive attitude will have better health and a longer life is because they possess an uncanny ability to regulate their emotions. These wise people are good at controlling negative emotions that might eventually lead to health crisis. For example, people who are able to regulate negative emotions such as anger, fear and anxiety would have a lower chance of facing health problems like heart disease and high blood pressure. Studies have shown that “daily measurements of the stress hormone control in people who are poor regulators of emotion follow a pattern that has been associated with poor health results” (Hall, 2007, para. 22).

Moreover, the old who possess a positive attitude toward life can handle stress better. The wisdom that has been acquired helps these people to cope with adversity calmly. For instance, when they bump into any troubles, they are able to weigh things, make necessary tradeoffs and a final decision that is suitable. In other words, they know how to solve problems systematically without putting too much stress on themselves. As we know, stress is one of the main factors that attributes to a lot of health risks, especially heart disease, which is one of the most serious killer to older people. On the other hand, people who lack this kind of wisdom will always stress themselves too much and finally suffer from health problems. Therefore, proper stress management is also a kind of wisdom that can lead to better health and a longer life.

In addition, old people with wisdom are able to socialize better in the society. For example, they can mix well with the other old people in the same residential area. Then, they might go for physical exercise together at the park everyday morning. Moreover, they can have leisure activities such as playing chess or chit-chatting together in their free time. Having a strong connection and interaction with others is a crucial part of mental health. Therefore, this wisdom helps them to nurture their relationships well and lead to healthier lifestyle, thus they can live longer and have a lower risk of suffering from diseases. In contrast, old people who cannot manage their negative emotion properly may face difficulties in socializing and interacting with the others. As a consequence, they would always end up staying in their house all the time and this is inevitably a bad lifestyle. To sum up, people with a positive attitude are able to socialize better and thus have a healthier lifestyle.

As conclusion, old people who possess a positive attitude toward life can live longer as the wisdom they acquire helps them to regulate their emotions well, socialize better, and manage stress more properly. Therefore, we should learn from these old people as this wisdom is valuable and able to help us maintain better health and a better lifestyle.

Reference:

Hall.S.S. (2007, May 8). Wisdom comes with age? Not true. The Straits Times.