A new study found out that being happy or unhappy doesn't have a significant impact on longevity.
The research, which is conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford and published in the Lancet on Wednesday, stated that the popular belief of stress and unhappiness causing health problems originated from studies that provided unclear cause and effect relationship, as noted in a report from Healthy Day.
"Illness makes you unhappy and causes stress," study co-author Richard Peto said in a statement. At the same time, he added that "illness is the thing causing unhappiness" and not the other way around.
To arrive to the conclusion, the researchers studied women who are part of the UK Million Woman Study -- a study that continuously monitors health records of more than one million female participants recruited from between the years of 1996 and 2001.
The women were required to complete a questionnaire asking about their health, happiness, relaxation, stress and feelings of control, Health Day gathered.
When the researchers studied the statistics, it was revealed that unhappiness and stress has nothing to do with increased likelihood of premature death. According to the New York Times, it wasn't made clear if the recent findings would also apply to men.
Telegraph noted that the study also revealed that women who were least happy were those who also smoked, didn't have a partner with them or didn't engage in physical activities.
Based on the findings, Peto said that people should focus more on problems that have direct impact on health such as obesity or smoking, instead of assuming that ignoring stress and staying happy will protect them from illness.
However, behaviors that develop from being unhappy such as binge eating unhealthy meals, smoking, and leading sedentary lifestyle, may still contribute significantly to premature death.
"There are these claims that if you have a positive attitude, you'll be healthy, but your health depends on what you do in your daily life," Peto said.
"Going around with a positive attitude but still smoking, that's no good for your health. We need to concentrate on the few important causes of premature death," he added.
NY Times gathered that an editorial for the study commended the researchers for having the largest population involved in studies about happiness. However, it was mentioned that further studies still need to be conducted.
Despite these latest findings, Peto explained that the new study will less likely influence people about the lack of association between illness and unhappiness, since the popular belief of misery causing illness is embedded deep into the minds of people.
