Is happiness key to living longer?

Growing old happily can lead to a longer life, new research has shown.

A five-year study of almost 4,000 middle-aged and elderly people found those who felt the most positive during the course of a single day tended to live longest.

Overall, the happiest and most content old folk had a 35 per cent reduced risk of dying compared with the least cheerful.

However, negative emotions did not reverse the trend and had little bearing on survival.

The scientists took account of factors such as age, gender, depression, health and lifestyle that might have influenced the results.

A total of 3,853 individuals aged 52 to 79 were recruited for the research, part of a long-running investigation called the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Each was asked to rate his or her feelings of happiness, contentedness and excitement – together described as “positive affect” – at four timed “moments” over the course of one day.

The aim was not to rely on recollections of mood and happiness, which depended on unreliable memories.

Researchers then monitored participants for five years, noting how many died during this time. Higher positive affect scores were seen to coincide with a gradual increase in lifespan.

The authors, led by Andrew Steptoe, professor at the University College London, were unable to say whether happiness actually extended lifespan, or was a marker for other factors that helped people live longer.