Dutch researchers have found that the most optimistic participants among a group of 545 men, aged 64 to 84, were 50% less likely to die from cardiovascular causes during a 15 year study.
The men were assessed for their level of optimism every five years from 1985 to 2000, with statements such as “I do not look forward to what lies ahead for me in years to come” or “I am still full of plans.” Higher optimism scores were linked to being younger, being better educated, living with others, having better health, and being more physically active.
(Dispositional Optimism and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death: The Zutphen Elderly Study. Achives of Internal Medicine 2006.)
Author: Robin Costello
I offer traditional Chinese acupuncture in Exeter, from a tranquil clinic a mile from the city centre, and next to the University of Exeter. I graduated originally from the London School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine’s 3 year full time Acupuncture Diploma (DipAc) course. I am on the practitioners register of the British Acupuncture Council (MBAcC), a regulatory and professional body with an entry standard of a full three year undergraduate degree level training.
I have worked in a hospital in south west China, deepening my knowledge and using acupuncture and Chinese massage (tuina) as the treatment of choice in its country of origin. I have taught Chinese medicine in colleges, the NHS and at university level. I also practise Qi Gong, and Chinese dietary therapy, that is the medicinal use of ordinary foods, chosen to help achieve particular therapeutic effects in different individuals.
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