Positive Emotion Leads to Better Physical Health

Positive psychology is an approach that helps people identify and learn ways to achieve better life satisfaction. The definition of positive psychology as developed by Seligman is explained as “the scientific study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to thrive.”

Positive psychology may be a purely psychological endeavor, but recent research into the connection between mental emotion and physical health may justify an increased level of attention on the benefits of positive psychology.

A study conducted by the University of Kansas has revealed a deep connection between positive emotions like happiness and laughter and physical health. Led by Sarah Pressman, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, the study was enormous, evaluating more than 150,000 people from 140 countries.

Explains Pressman, “We’ve known for a while now that emotions play a critical role in physical health, but until recently, most of this research was conducted only in industrialized countries. So we couldn’t know whether feelings like happiness or sadness matter to the health of people who have more pressing concerns — like getting enough to eat or finding shelter. But now we do.”

The results of the study inarguably concluded that positive emotions are “unmistakably linked to better health” and are even more important to overall health that basic needs like food, water, and shelter. Negative emotions like anger and sadness, had the opposite effect on physical health. Because the sample studied was so large, it is representative of nearly the entire population, making it one of the most important studies of the relationship between positive emotion and physical health to ever be conducted.