Heal Theyself—Too Happy to Be Sick

By James Keough

As a practical matter, the old saying “Let a smile be your umbrella” may not hold much value in a rainstorm, but having a happy disposition can at least keep you from getting sick afterward. So says a study published in Psychosomatic Medicine. It seems a sunny outlook—defined as “being happy, lively, and calm”—not only helps people shrug off the minor symptoms of a cold or flu, it actually makes them less susceptible to catching one in the first place. Researchers based this conclusion on both objective measures—like daily mucus production—and self-reported levels of aches, sneezing, and congestion in subjects exposed to a rhinovirus or influenza virus. Sad sacks (those who are “anxious, hostile, and depressed”), on the other hand, tend to grouse more about their cold or flu symptoms, although they don’t, in fact, face a higher risk of catching a cold. While the researchers ruled out alternative hypotheses, don’t expect to ward off a cold by pretending to be happy—as Rocky was wont to say to Bullwinkle, “That trick never works.”

Enter a comment related to this article

---