Your attitude could help you live seven years longer - expert shares what to do

There’s no doubt that good dietary choices and a healthy lifestyle are the pillars of a long life.

However, your attitude and outlook could also play a major role when it comes to the number of years you have under your belt, according to the book Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life.

Considered one of the most popular books about longevity, the work highlights practices of blue zones, which describe areas with some of the longest-living people in the world.

Most people at or near the age of 100, also known as centenarians, have some personality traits in common that may have helped their long lifespan.

Interestingly, a positive attitude is one of these traits that links many of them together.

Positive attitude could help you live seven years longer – expert.

Nicci Roscoe, holistic health and wellbeing expert, told Express.co.uk: “Choosing to have a positive attitude can change your perception of any challenges going on in your life – from health or relationship issues to work or financial problems.

“It can boost your longevity by having a positive outlook that will send positive messages to your subconscious mind.

“If you continue having a negative attitude, your subconscious hears you and continues to feed your mind and body with pessimistic thoughts.

“Our body reacts to this and can even be the cause of the onset of disease.”

Furthermore, a 2019 study by Boston University School of Medicine also backs positivity as a potent approach for longevity.

Looking at 69,744 women and 1,429 men, the researchers discovered that optimistic people live, on average, seven years longer than their more pessimistic friends.

Participants with a positive outlook also seemed more likely to live to age 85 and more.

Roscoe, who is also the author of the new book Manifest your Everything, said: “Depending on your circumstances – and what you do to enhance your health and wellbeing – can make a huge difference to your lifespan.

From a healthy diet to exercise, there are many ways to boost longevity.

“Just by telling yourself, ‘I’m looking forward to today’, ‘I feel strong and in control’ or ‘I feel calm, relaxed and happy’, you are re-training your brain to focus on positive outcomes and making the changes you want.”

If positivity doesn’t come naturally to you, the expert explained you can retrain your brain to look at things differently.

“When you only focus on what you can’t do, you’re sending your subconscious negative messages,” she said.

Instead, she recommended changing your attitude and focusing on things you can control.

Positive attitude could help you live seven years longer – expert.