Positivity is Good for your Health

Many of the most popular New Year’s resolutions have to do with our health.  Some people resolve to eat healthier, others to exercise more, to reduce stress, or to drink less alcohol.  All of these are important steps that can be taken in order to improve your health, but another way to be healthier and to live longer is to increase your positivity.  Sounds too good to be true, but it’s not!

Health benefits of positivity

Positivity is related in many ways to better physical health.  Positive people have lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, lower levels of stress hormones, and stronger immune systems.  Positivity lowers the probability of hypertension, diabetes, and stroke.  Positive people sleep better and report experiencing less pain than negative people.  And since positive people are healthier, they can live up to 10 years longer than negative people!

New Year’s intention

I prefer to set a New Year’s intention rather than a resolution.  An intention is an attitude that you have toward your thoughts or actions.  People keep less than 5% of their New Year’s resolutions.  An intention is easier to keep than a resolution.  You aren’t making it to the gym 4 days a week – resolution broken, but you haven’t lost your intention to get in better shape, so you can keep trying!

Why not set an intention for 2010 to improve your health not only by eating better and exercising more, but also by being more positive?