Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Positive affect and biological function in everyday life.

Andrew Steptoe1, Jane Wardle

  • 1Psychobiology Group, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK. a.steptoe@ucl.ac.uk

Neurobiology of Aging
|October 11, 2005
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Racial discrimination and health: a prospective study of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom.

BMC public health·2020
Same author

Loneliness Relates to Functional Mobility in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: The Look AHEAD Study.

Journal of aging research·2020
Same author

The association between loneliness and depressive symptoms among adults aged 50 years and older: a 12-year population-based cohort study.

The lancet. Psychiatry·2020
Same author

Comparing loneliness in England and the United States, 2014-2016: Differential item functioning and risk factor prevalence and impact.

Social science & medicine (1982)·2020
Same author

Levels of Severity of Depressive Symptoms Among At-Risk Groups in the UK During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

JAMA network open·2020
Same author

Enjoyment of life predicts reduced type 2 diabetes incidence over 12 years of follow-up: findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Journal of epidemiology and community health·2020
Same journal

Hippocampal-cortical structural networks in the progression of cognitive impairment: A source-based morphometry analysis in individuals with subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
Same journal

Brain structure in the cingulate cortex and locus coeruleus in late life is associated with engagement in complex mental activities across the life span.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
Same journal

Age-related differences in motor learning, sensorimotor neurochemistry, and cortical reactivity co-occur but are dissociated.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
Same journal

How cognition and hearing-related measures covary with hippocampal subfield features from structural MRI in younger and older adults.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
Same journal

Decreased awareness of cognitive decline is associated with multimodal Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired individuals.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
Same journal

Review of current research practices in social and structural determinants of health data collection in Canadian longitudinal cohorts of aging and dementia.

Neurobiology of aging·2026
See all related articles

Greater happiness is linked to better health outcomes. Studies show positive affect correlates with lower cortisol, reduced stress responses, and healthier heart rate and blood pressure, suggesting biological benefits.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Health Sciences
  • Biomedical Research

Background:

  • Accumulating evidence suggests positive affect may protect against ill-health and disease risk.
  • Research has focused on identifying the biological mechanisms underlying this protective effect.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the biological correlates of positive affect, specifically happiness.
  • To examine the association between happiness and physiological markers of health.

Main Methods:

  • Data collected from middle-aged men and women, assessing happiness via repeated daily ratings.
  • Measured salivary cortisol, fibrinogen stress responses, ambulatory heart rate, and blood pressure.
  • Followed up participants for 3 years to confirm associations.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Greater happiness associated with lower salivary cortisol, reduced fibrinogen stress responses, and lower ambulatory heart rate in men.
  • These associations were independent of age, socioeconomic status, smoking, body mass, and psychological distress.
  • Longitudinal data confirmed these biological links; happiness inversely related to ambulatory systolic blood pressure at follow-up.

Conclusions:

  • Positive affective states are linked to favorable health outcomes through biological pathways.
  • These findings highlight the potential relevance of happiness for health, particularly in older age.
  • Positive affect may play a role in mitigating the risk of chronic diseases associated with aging.