A new research has suggested that higher levels of optimism were associated with longer lifespan and living beyond age 90 in women. The results of the study are published in the Journal of the ‘American Geriatrics Society’. The study led by Harvard University research team found that women who are more optimistic live an average of 54 per cent longer – or more than four years of life – when compared to their more pessimistic peers. Those who are the most optimistic also have a ten per cent greater chance to reach 90 years of age than the most pessimistic women. Study lead author Dr. Hayami Koga said, “A lot of previous work has focused on deficits or risk factors that increase the risks for diseases and premature death.” Koga is a post-doctoral student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
