November 2006

Happy patients = healthy patients

Telling your patients “Don’t worry, be happy” may keep them healthy this winter season. Staying positive during the cold season could be the best defense against getting sick, suggests the findings of an experiment, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

The experiment exposed 193 healthy volunteers to a cold or flu virus, and researchers found that people with a generally sunny disposition were less likely to fall ill. The experiment builds on evidence that a “positive emotional style” can help ward off the common cold and other illnesses.

Researchers believe the reasons may be both objective — as in happiness boosting immune function — and subjective — as in happy people being less troubled by a scratchy throat or runny nose.

When happy folks did develop a cold, their self-rated symptoms were less severe than would be expected based on objective measures.

Sources: Reuters, www.reuters.com; Psychosomatic Medicine 2006, www.psychosomaticmedicine.org

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