Top 10 Physical Benefits of Positive Thinking
Is the cup half empty? Or, is the cup half full?
We’re sure you’ve heard this one before. But before you shrug it off, you should know that your answer may have greater significance than you’d think.
It turns out that positive thinking and an attitude of optimism holds a lot of sway over our internal states. But engaging in negative or positive thinking doesn’t just affect how we feel. Being optimistic or pessimistic actually affects our physical health too!
These states and closely entwined, and opting for one over the other isn’t always something we feel we have a lot of power over.
A positive attitude can totally change the way we experience and perceive the world around us. And if you’re someone who is more inclined to a pessimistic worldview, don’t worry. Because optimism can be learned. And it the benefits of positive thinking for your body is incredible.
10 Powerful Physical Benefits of Positive Thinking
Optimism and positive thinking don’t just alter the way you interpret what goes on around you. These states have the potential to shift your internal energy vibration to an entirely different frequency!
Would you like to experience greater internal health and wellness? It may be time to try adopting a more positive outlook. And here’s why:
1. Positive Thinking Boosts Your Immune System
Want a better way to combat the common cold? Simple. Just work on cultivating some more optimism!
No, really. Positive thinking actively combats anxiety. Anxiety has been well documented to lower immune system function, leaving you open and susceptible to bugs, flu, and viruses.
Kiss those pesky sniffles goodbye with a more optimistic outlook!
2. Positive People Live Longer
Well, if this isn’t motivation to work on improving your optimism skills, we don’t know what is.
A study from the Netherlands discovered that there was a positive correlation between study participants actively practicing optimism and living a longer, healthier life.
Engaging in optimism increases your motivation, which in turn encourages your commitment to personal milestones and life goals. The more optimistic you are, the more likely you’ll be to persevere in attaining those goals you set out for yourself to achieve. This leads to a greater sense of well-being and fulfillment.
3. A Positive Attitude Can Lower Your Cholesterol
True! A 2013 Harvard study discovered a link between study participants who held an optimistic outlook and higher levels of good cholesterol.
A positive attitude has the potential to affect your health in ways many don’t realize, and this is due largely to what’s been dubbed the mind-body connection. This connection refers to the deep and profound way that the body and mind relate to one another. What you think about, you bring about!
4. Optimism Lowers Depression
This one might seem fairly obvious one to most, but there’s more at stake here than combating the blues.
Clinical depression is a serious mental health concern that affects many. But depression is rarely a condition that operates in isolation. Some of those who suffer from depression are also at risk for developing substance abuse issues, and this can heavily compound the problem of treatment.
When you work to cultivate a positive mindset, you’re actively fighting not just depression, but the many side effects and risks that accompany it.
5. Positive Thinking Powers Your Risk of Developing Coronary Disease
A recent study found that those who practiced high optimism were at a 73% decreased risk of heart failure. So, more optimism? Less risk of coronary heart disease!
Again, this relates back to the incredible mind-body connection. The complex relationship that exists between our minds and our physical bodies is one that is in constant communication.
What we hold in our minds, we are able to make manifest in our bodies.
6.Positive Thinking Lowers Chronic Pain
Medical scientists have discovered that negative thoughts are correlated with increased sensations of pain.
This is especially important for those suffering from chronic pain. When the body is in a consistent state of discomfort, the part of the nervous system responsible for the sensory experience of pain becomes highly sensitized. And this sensitization can be encouraged by negative self-talk and pessimistic thinking.
It’s quite difficult to pull yourself from a negative mindset when your body is in chronic pain, but the endeavor of shifting your vibration to a more positive frequency will be well worth the effort when you experience the life-changing results of optimism.
7. Optimism Helps Fight Insomnia
This one is more closely related to the state of gratitude, but gratitude most definitely contributes to a positive outlook, so it certainly applies!
Encouraging an attitude of gratitude can do more than help reminds you of the things you have in your life to be thankful for. It can actually improve your sleep! Focusing on things you’re grateful for as you’re getting ready for bed can help fight insomnia, earning you a better, more restful sleep experience.
8. Positive Thinking Fights the Symptoms of Anxiety
When you engage in optimism, you’re actively staving off the state of anxiety.
Anxiety flourishes under stressful, adverse circumstances. And while we can’t always control the difficult situations we encounter in our lives, we can work to nurture a more positive outlook to combat the instinctive reaction of anxiety.
Anxiety has a host of unpleasant physical symptoms, such as headaches, heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, exhaustion, brain fog, and increased risk of depression.
By working toward a positive mindset, we help ward off anxiety and its unpleasant physical symptoms.
9. Optimism Encourages an Active Lifestyle
When we look at our lives through a more optimistic lens, we’re liable to notice all sorts of new opportunities for growth and change. And this includes engaging in a more active lifestyle.
Positive people tend to engage in exercise more often than their pessimistic counterparts, leading healthy, active lifestyles that encourage them to explore the outdoors and strengthen social connections.
10. A Positive Attitude Leads to a More Fulfilled Life
Cultivating optimism isn’t just about fighting depression, getting a better night’s sleep, or lowering our cholesterol. The physical benefits that accompany a positive attitude can’t be denied, and are well worth the perseverance to attain.
But positive thinking will also put you on the path to a healthier, happier, more fulfilled life that shifts the entire spectrum of your experience. As you navigate the day to day experiences of your life, you’ll find more opportunities to be thankful, more moments of mindful solace, and a greater wealth of joy and optimism to utilize when times get tough.
There’s no knowing what you’ll be met with on the journey of your life. But by working toward a more optimistic outlook, bit by bit, day by day, you’ll begin to see the vast wealth of benefits that accompany cultivating a positive perspective.
What are your thoughts on the physical benefits of positive thinking? Be sure to share this with friends who might want to learn more about the powerful effects of positive thinking!
An Article Written by: Vrajan
