Joy and Health: What’s Joy, Optimism and Happiness Got to Do with It?

Debra L. Glasser, M.D.

PHOTO BY GLORIA TOWNE

In my last column, we discussed how mental and physical health are inextricably linked, as there is extensive scientific research on how negative emotions impact the body.   

Returning from a delightful experience sailing on our beautiful Puget Sound waters and being in nature, where I feel a lot of JOY, led me to wonder if there has been a scientific study on joy and health. In other words, has there been any research showing a link between positive emotions and good health? Turns out there is!

Most of us at least intuitively know it is not advantageous (or desired) for our health to feel unhappy and unfulfilled. But is it healthy (as well as preferred) for us to feel GOOD?

An internet search led me to the work of Dr. Laura Kubzansky from Harvard School of Public Health (Ref 1).  She is a leader in the study of and advocating for more research on positive psychological health (i.e., feeling HAPPY) as a separate predictor of health, different from the absence of negative feelings such as depression and anxiety.

This column is about the connection between HAPPINESS and health.

Positivity. Why it matters.  What do we know? And what can you do to enhance happiness?  Why? 

 “People care about things beyond just physical health and physical health behaviors -they care about being happy, having a sense of meaning and purpose, being a good person, and having good relationships” is a compelling quote from Positive Epidemiology? (Ref 4). This article makes a strong argument for the importance of including positive psychological states as a relevant variable in medical research. The authors refer to a few positive states that have been long validated to improve health even before their proposed concept of positive epidemiology:

• Parental warmth in childhood affects a wide range of health and well-being outcomes.
• Participation in religious communities both in childhood and adulthood reduces the risk of death, depression, suicide, and substance abuse.
• Marriage predicts greater longevity and lower risk of depression

I have always preferred a positive focus yet worked in medicine; a field focused on the negative

Most of the science and research in the field of medicine and health is focused on disease and frankly, negativity. I remember being ‘scared into’ testing for Down’s Syndrome in my second pregnancy because, at my age there was a 1 in 99 chance (considered high by obstetricians) of such an outcome. No one congratulated me on the 98 out of 99 chance that he would be free of this genetic abnormality. I opted for a blood test rather than a needle in my womb (known as amniocentesis) and gratefully birthed a healthy baby boy, now a young adult with impressive intellect. It has always troubled me that cancer research is focused on disease outcomes alone, as if that is really all people care about, especially as they go thru trying times. What if cancer treatment and research also focused on psychological outcomes during and after therapy? Perhaps we would learn surprising information to assist physical outcomes in cancer, as I would not be surprised if optimism influenced response rates to cancer treatment.

What is happiness anyway?

Definition of Happy (Oxford Language Dictionary): feeling or showing pleasure or contentment, having a sense of confidence in or satisfaction with a situation.

To do this positive epidemiologic (remember epidemiology from Covid19? The study of disease and health in populations) research, Dr. Kubzansky needed to define ‘exactly’ what is psychologic well-being.  Not an easy thing to exact. She and others proposed the term Emotional Vitality as a new scientific measure that can be used to study outcomes of different ‘events.’ Emotional Vitality includes the characteristics of OPTIMSIM, POSITIVE AFFECT (feeling pleasure and happiness), LIFE SATISFACTION, GRATITUDE, and LEVERAGING of PERSONAL STRENGTHS.  Having validated this new scientific measure, the research around positivity could begin.

Here is some of what we know about happiness and health

Psychologic well-being has been associated with seven metrics of cardiovascular health (Ref 2).  Purpose in life and life satisfaction are each associated with reduced mortality risk.  Optimism has been shown in large longitudinal studies (think:  large groups of people studied over a long time) to be associated with both decreased mortality (= death) rates and reduced risk of cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) and other chronic (lifelong) diseases. This finding was confirmed in 2022 by Dr. Kubzansky and co-authors. They showed that higher optimism was associated with a longer lifespan and greater likelihood of achieving exceptional longevity (survival to >90) across racial and ethnic groups from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative. Lifestyle contributed to only a quarter of these benefits (Ref 5).  

Aren’t happiness and optimism personality traits?

This is an important question as science has shown personality traits to be difficult to change and so, why bother studying something that can’t be changed anyway? In fact, it has been shown that psychological states are set by forces of both nature and nurture. Nature means genetic, something you inherit the predisposition to be. Nurture means the effect of how you are raised. Happiness and optimism are traits that are 40-50% inheritable. Thus 50-60% of our happiness and optimism are related to ‘nurture.’  Nurture traits are those that have been shown to be amenable to change; thus, there is an opportunity to modify them. As of 4 years ago, there were 39 randomized trials (scientific research) that showed positive psychologic interventions were associated with modest but important effects on subjective well-being and health outcomes.

Image of a man playing a guitar with a happy soft expression on his face.

What can you do to find more joy, optimism, happiness, satisfaction, and gratitude?

The science showing the association between joy and health is new. Research on ways to influence optimism and happiness and how change can potentially improve health are cutting-edge and in progress. That said, evidence suggests that doing things that give you joy and happiness matters!

Only you know what brings joy to you. And only you can take the time, the moments, the minutes, or even the hours to attend to joy. It matters for your health and the quality of your life experience.

For me, nature is always a source of joy… watching a bird at the feeder or a deer wandering thru the neighborhood, being on or in the water, feeling the breeze in the forest. In my busy working and parenting life, I made time to exercise outdoors or take a walk in our sacred Squaxin Park, even if just for 20 minutes after a long day. Such activities I consider ‘state changers,’ they change your state of mind and feelings. Relaxation and letting go comes more easily and naturally. 

For others, finding joy could be in making art, sewing, cooking, writing, playing and/or watching sports, gardening, exercising in a myriad of ways, playing with your children or grandchildren…and many more. Joy can be found in a moment as well by taking a few deep breaths, allowing relaxation and feelings of gratitude.

Dr. Kubzansky writes about the importance of being in the moment. This centered presence is what happens practicing prayer and meditation, yoga, and stopping all the activity in our busy lives (mental and physical) for a brief reset. Also, doing things that take all our attention distracts our mind from the worry around problems and stresses. She loves playing the piano. Playing an instrument brings beautiful sound and vibration to the player and listener. If you think about learning an instrument, do! If you do play, play more!  

Our glorious Pacific Northwest summertime is a perfect time to remember to feel joy and gratitude for living in this paradise.  Doing so may make you healthier to boot!

References:

1 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/laura-kubzansky/hj

2 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/happiness-stress-heart-disease/

3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30213332/

4 https://journals.lww.com/epidem/Fulltext/2020/03000/Positive_Epidemiology_.6.aspx

5 https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.17897