Do you see the proverbial glass half empty or glass half full? If you chose the latter, you're not alone -- most people around the world are optimistic about the future, according to a new study.
The research, published in the Journal of Personality, shows that optimism's benefits are seen in both high- and low-income countries, suggesting it's not "just a luxury that exists in wealthy, industrialized nations," study researcher Shane Lopez, of the University of Kansas, said in a statement.
Lopez and colleagues analyzed data from the Gallup World Poll, which includes 150,000 people from 142 countries. Data included responses to questions about life satisfaction, expectations for what the future holds, positive and negative emotions and physical health.
The researchers found that 89 percent of people involved in the poll said they believed their future was going to be good or better than their current situation, and most had a "glass-half-full" mentality.
They also found that individual factors -- like age, income level, education, gender, etc. -- had a smaller-than-expected impact on optimism, and that national factors -- like GDP and life expectancy -- didn't really have an impact on optimism at all.
"The present study provides compelling evidence that optimism is a universal phenomenon and that the associations between optimism and improved psychological functioning are not limited to industrialized nations," researchers wrote in the study.
That's a good thing -- the researchers also found associations between having a positive outlook and improved physical health. And they're hardly the first scientists to pinpoint a link between optimism and wellbeing. Click through for a few more healthy benefits of looking at the bright side.
.Have Healthier Hearts
Could a positive outlook be the key to a healthier ticker? Maybe so, according to a 2012 scientific review published in the journal Psychological Bulletin.
"Health is more than the absence of disease," co-author Julia Boehm, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, told HuffPost's Catherine Pearson when the findings were released. "So we looked at the positive side of things -- how optimism and happiness might protect against cardiovascular disease."
The review suggests that psychological well-being, including optimism, is linked with a reduction in heart attacks and strokes, as well as other cardiovascular problems, according to HSPH News.
...Have Better Cholesterol
A 2013 study, also from the Harvard School of Public Health, but this time published in The American Journal of Cardiology, found that middle-aged study participants who scored as optimistic on a test have higher levels of "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol) and lower levels of triglycerides.
...Handle Stress Smoothly
It can seem particularly tricky to think positively when you're stressed out -- but that's exactlywhen optimism can help the most, according to "positivity" researcher Barbara Fredrickson. Her research shows that people who find meaning in stressful experiences -- exhibiting a type of "silver lining" thinking -- are also more likely to recover from the psychological pain of a bad event. What's more, according to Fredrickson's researchupbeat thoughts had a positive effect on physical recovery from an immediate stressor: According to one study, study participants who were subjected to public speaking had heart rates that returned to normal in a shorter time span if they watched a positive video beforehand.
And in totally unrelated research, psychologists found that being optimistic about one’s own abilities -- and engaging in positive self-talk -- was enough to improve problem solving during times of great stress.
...Have Stronger Immunity
As if the glass-half-empty set doesn't have enough to fret about. A study found that keeping a positive outlook has an impact on the strength of your immune system. Researchers tracked first-year law students through the ups and downs of their school year. They found that individual students had different levels of immune response based on how positively they were thinking about things. When a student displayed optimistic thinking, he also showed greater cell-mediated immunity -- a phenomenon in which immune cells cluster to respond to a perceived threat, in this case a harmless but provocative injection of a dead mumps virus. On the other hand, a gloomy outlook -- brought on by say, a missed internship or bad test score -- had an actual negative effect on the response of immune cells.
...Have Lower Stroke Risk
In the largest study of the link between positive thinking and stroke risk, researchers observed 6,044 adults involved in the ongoing Health and Retirement Study who had not previously had a stroke, WebMD reported. Optimism was rated on a 16-point scale, and with every point increase in positivity, people exhibited a 9 percent lower likelihood of having a stroke, according to ABC News. Researchers haven't pinpointed whether that association is due to a biological effect of optimism or merely the fact that people who look on the bright side are likely to take more steps toward total health, USA Today reported.
...Regulate Emotions Better
In his studies of prisoners of war, U.S. Special Forces, earthquake victims and others surrounded by stress, Dr. Dennis Charney found that the people who bounced back more easily from trying and traumatic situations had a number of similar traits. At the top of the list? Having a positive attitude. Optimistic war veterans were found to have lower rates of depression and PTSD, The Atlantic reported, because of their ability to say, "This is a challenge, but I will prevail," Charney told Time.com.
This realistic yet optimistic outlook is likely the key, since being overly optimistic has been linked to higher rates of depression, Men's Health reported.
...Live Longer
With protective effects against so many serious health concerns, it follows that optimism has been linked to a longer life in general. In a 2012 study of 243 centenarians, researchers found that most looked at life through rose-colored glasses. "When I started working with centenarians, I thought we'd find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery," study author Dr. Nir Barzilai said in a statement. "But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life. Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing."
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