The Science News Online, Dec. 16, 2006 article Sniffle-Busting Personalities reports on a test of 334 healthy adults exposed to rhinoviruses via nasal drops. Those who displayed generally positive outlooks were less likely to develop cold symptoms.
Beneficial impacts for people with a "positive emotional style" were seen during additional tests using rhino or influenza viruses. According to the article, that study showed -
"Although a positive emotional style bore no relation to whether participants became infected, it protected against the emergence of cold symptoms. For instance, among people infected by the influenza virus, 14 of 50 (28 percent) who often reported positive emotions developed coughs, congestion, and other cold symptoms, as compared with 23 of 56 infected individuals (41 percent) who rarely reported positive emotions."A positive emotional style includes feelings of liveliness, cheerfulness, and being at ease.
Not only can positive emotions help keep you healthy but preliminary data suggests a correlation between lack of positive emotions as an indicator for stroke.
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