Happiness does not make you live longer?

Happiness does not make you live longer and sadness related to stress will not shorten your life, according to a new study. Many people believe that sadness is caused by working conditions, stressful relations or dissatisfaction with colleagues or people around them, which can reduce life expectancy. Some research in the past has also contributed to our growing confidence in it. However, according to scientists from Oxford University, this concept is not true.

A study involving no more than 1 million women in their 60s in the UK, published in the medical journal Lancet, shows that poor health makes people sad. Meaning is the reason why the life expectancy is reduced depending on health . "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you sick," said Dr. Bette Liu, who works at the University of New South Wales, Australia. "We found no direct effect of sadness or stress on mortality, even for 1 million women in the study that lasted for 10 years."

The cause of reduced life expectancy depends on health.

Professor Richard Peto of Oxford University, co-author of the study, said: " Sad statements are an important cause of death, meaninglessness . Sadness can make people behave. unhealthy, such as eating / drinking too much or self-harming, but if you ask if it is the direct cause of the death rate, the answer is no " to speak.

Recent studies focus on the answers of more than 700,000 women who are asked about their health, happiness, stress, emotional control and relaxed mood. 44% of volunteers said they were happy, 39% said they were happy and 17% said they were unhappy. A year later, the questions were repeated, showing that these numbers were not significantly changed. People who say at the beginning that their health is very poor may also say they often feel unhappy, research finds. In 10 years of follow-up, more than 31,000 participants died (4%). However, the mortality rate in people who are sad is not higher than those who say they are always happy.

Professor Richard Peto - co-author of the study.(Photo: Nytimes).

To come to this conclusion, the researchers evaluated the health status of women, including treating a number of diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, depression or concerned. The crisis and lifestyle that are able to reduce life expectancy such as smoking, lack of food and obesity are also of interest to scientists. Poor health and unfavorable lifestyles (such as regular smoking) can shorten your life, but after taking into account these things, "our study shows no solid evidence. To conclude happiness can reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer or death ".

"Many people still believe that stress or sadness can directly cause illness, but they seem to have confusion between cause and effect," Professor Peto said. "Of course, patients tend to be less happy than ordinary people, but research has shown that their happiness and sadness do not have any direct effect on mortality."