Happiness! Introduction in the book Authentic Happiness brought out the case of two women who took vows and entered into the nunnery at the same time in the same city. Both have written a short sketch of their life on this momentous occasion. One have a lot of positive emotion words and the other has none.
Why was these two nuns used as examples? It is a well documented fact that people from Utah live longer than people from the neightbouring state of Nevada. But why? Is it the clean air of the mountain in Utah vs the exhaust fumes of Las Vegas. Is it the diet in Nevada - junk food, late-night snacks, alcolhol, coffee and tobacco as opposed to wholesome, farm-fresh food and scarcity of alcohol, coffee and tobacco in Utah. Utah is a State with a lot Momon who live life in a "primitive" way i.e. no coffee, tea or stimulant of any kind, no violence, no cars (only horse carriage allowed). Too many insidious factors are confounded between Nevada and Utah for scientists to isolate the cause.
Unlike Nevadans, or Utahans, nuns lead routine and sheltered lives. They all eat roughly the same bland diet. They do not smoke or drink and they do not get sexually transmitted diseases. The are in the same economic and social class and have same access to good medical care. So with all the usual confounding factors eliminated, there is still a wide variation in how long nuns live and how healthy they are.
The nun with positive emotions live to ripe old age of ninety-eight and has never been sick a day in her life. The other has a stroke at the age fo fifty-nine and died soon thereafter.
Conclusion: Happy people lives longer.
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