Spa Business issue 2 2012 - Leisure Opportunities

RESEARCH
THE
FINISHING
TOUCH
HAPPY TALK
The argument that positive wellbeing
could – and should – be used in the
fi ght against bad health and stress
has been highlighted by a UK study*.
Scientists from the University College
of London have found that the happiest
people, who have a more positive outlook,
are 35 per cent less likely to die in the short
term than those who are miserable.
While many existing studies already show
that happy people are healthier, this study is
unique because the participants were accurately
reporting their mood in real time
rather than recollecting them at a later date
which can prove unreliable.
IN THE MOOD
Th e study was based on 3,853 people in total
aged between 52 to 79. Using the ecological
momentary assessment (EMA) method,
they recorded their mood four times in one
day – on waking, 30 minutes aft er waking,
at 7pm and when they went to bed.
Each time, they rated the extent to which
they felt happy, excited, content, worried, anxious
or fearful on a scale of one to four. Th e fi rst
three feelings were combined and described
as positive aff ect (PA) in the results.
The subjects were then divided into
three groups based on their PA rankings –
high, medium and low. Aft er fi ve years, the
researchers followed up with the members
of each group to record who had died dur-
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Being happy is the key
to older adults living a
longer life according to
a British study based
on 3,800 people
ing that time. Factors such as age, gender,
depression, health and lifestyle – which
might have infl uenced the results – were
taken into account.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Th e group with the highest PA scores had
a gradual increase in lifespan it was found.
Only 3.6 per cent of the high-PA group had
died during the fi ve years. In contrast, 4.6
per cent in the middle bracket and 7.3 per
cent in the lower third had died.
In short, the happiest people were 35 per
cent less likely to die. Yet more negative
emotions did not reverse the trend and had
little infl uence on survival.
“We were surprised that measures
obtained over one single day might predict
so strongly,” said lead author Andrew Steptoe
in an article on the health-based website
healthymagination.com. Other fi ndings the
website highlighted were:
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The happiest
people
outlived those
who were
miserable
■ Th e happiest people were
slightly younger and more likely
to be male and married
■ Positive emotions overall were lowest
at 7am and highest at 7pm
■ Ethnicity, paid employment, education
and presence of serious disease
made no signifi cant diff erence to PA
■ Smoking was less common
and physical activity higher
among those with higher PAs
■ Happier people had higher opinions
of their own health
However, Steptoe was keen to point out
that the results don’t prove that happiness
causes people to live longer. He told UK
newspaper Th e Telegraph: “Th e happiness
could be a marker of some other aspect of
people’s lives which is particularly important
for health. For example, happiness is quite
strongly linked to good social relationships –
maybe it’s things like that which are account
for the link between happiness and health.”
He also suspects that biological processes
could be at work: other studies have shown
that positive moods reduce stress-related hormones
and boost the immune system. ●
*Steptoe A and Wardle J. Positive aff ect measured
using ecological momentary assessment
and survival in older men and women. PNAS.
Vol 108, no 45, November 2011
SPA BUSINESS 2 2012 © Cybertrek 2012
YURI ARCURS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM