Don’t worry, be happy – that’s the key to enjoying longer life

A five-year study of almost 4,000 middle-aged and elderly people found those who expressed more positive feelings tended to have a lower risk of dying early.

Overall, the happiest and most content older people had a 35 per cent reduced risk of dying early, compared with the least cheerful. But having more negative emotions did not reverse the trend and had little bearing on survival, said the researchers from University College London.

Professor Andrew Steptoe said they were unable to say whether happiness actually extended lifespan, or was a marker for other factors that helped people to live longer.

“We tried to take into account the factors we thought might be important,” he said. “The most obvious thing was that people at the beginning who were less happy might have been iller and then more likely to die.

“But we measured that quite carefully and found that wasn’t the explanation of difference related to happiness.”

Maureen Talbot, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “There is certainly something to be said about staying positive, and if we can combine that with keeping established risk factors, like high cholesterol, under control, we’ll be doing our heart a huge favour.”

A spokesman for Age Scotland said: “This reinforces the case for investment in services that help older people stay healthy and independent.”