People who experience not just positive emotions but a diversity of positive emotions appear to have lower levels of systemic inflammation, which may reduce their risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, according to research published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
“There is growing evidence that inflammatory responses may help explain how emotions get under the skin, so to speak, and contribute to disease susceptibility,” said lead author Anthony Ong, PhD, of Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College. “Our findings suggest that having a rich and diverse positive emotional life may benefit health by lower circulating levels of inflammation.”