When faced with everyday stressors and challenges, it’s easy to fall into negative thinking patterns. But doing so affects not only your mood but your overall well-being. The profound impact of your mental outlook on health has long been known, and research shows that a positive mindset is one of the biggest factors influencing longevity.One
Study January 20242 The study, published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, provides new insight into the link between stress and long-term brain health. Although it focused on patients with cognitive impairment, the findings highlight an important point: increased stress related to mental states, particularly negative thinking, can have a significant impact on cognitive abilities and potentially lifespan.
Stress eats away at your ‘cognitive reserve’
Special research,three The study, conducted by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, involved 113 participants from the large-scale Cortisol and Stress in Alzheimer's Disease (Co-STAR) cohort study, which investigated the effects of stress and lifestyle among patients at the memory clinic at Karolinska University Hospital. In this case, the authors wanted to find out the relationship between stress, cognitive reserve, and the development of Alzheimer's disease.
Cognitive reserve is a concept that originated in research in the late 1980s, and refers to the brain's ability to maintain function despite signs of cognitive impairment or age-related changes. It is thought to accumulate through lifelong mental and social stimulation, such as education, complex tasks, and participation in cognitive activities. People with high cognitive reserve are better able to cope with brain changes associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.4
People who participated in the special study5 They underwent a variety of assessments, including cognitive tests to assess memory and mental function, a questionnaire to determine their level of stress perception, measurements of salivary cortisol levels to assess physiological stress, and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid for amyloid beta and tau proteins, which are indicators of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers also created a Cognitive Reserve Index (CRI) for each participant. This index measured the brain’s resilience to aging and disease by taking into account education, task complexity, physical and leisure activities, and social interactions. The study results highlighted four key findings.
“First, higher CRI scores (protected condition) were associated with better overall cognition, particularly in the areas of processing speed, working memory, and perceptual reasoning. Second, circadian salivary cortisol patterns, which serve as a physiological indicator of stress, appeared to diminish the beneficial effects of high CRI on cognitive performance.
Third, with respect to working memory, there was evidence of an interaction between CRI and cortisol AM/PM ratio: that is, in patients with good memory clinics with only a good AM/PM ratio, higher CRI was associated with better working memory.
Fourth, there were no associations between CRI and (AD)-related CSF biomarkers in the overall analysis sample. However, there were indications that cortisol awakening rate and age potentially play a modifying role in the relationship between (cognitive reserve) and tau pathology.”
Chronically elevated cortisol levels can be detrimental to your health
Cortisol is a stress hormone, essential for survival, but chronically high levels can cause significant harm to health. So the key takeaway from the study is6 Stress management is important to avoid persistently high cortisol levels, which can damage the cognitive reserve you’ve built up over a lifetime.
But the negative effects of cortisol go beyond cognitive issues. Cortisol helps increase low blood sugar by breaking down muscle, bone, and brain tissue to release amino acids, which the liver then converts into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. So ultimately, chronically elevated cortisol increases inflammation and impairs immune function.
Cortisol is also known as the primary aging hormone. If this hormone is consistently high, it can lead to premature death because it is very catabolic, breaking down tissues. In a previous interview with Georgi Dinkov, an expert on the work of the late Dr. Ray Pitt,7 An author and pioneer in the fields of nutrition, bioenergetics, environmental factors and regenerative processes, he commented:
“I don't think there's a chronic disease that doesn't involve cortisol. And in most cases, it's not low cortisol, it's high cortisol. In fact, the only situation where low cortisol is a problem is probably Addison's disease, which is adrenal insufficiency. And that's very rare.”
As we age, staying healthy requires anabolism, which means building healthy tissues like muscles and mitochondria. High cortisol levels can significantly interfere with this process. For more information on the negative health effects of chronically high cortisol, check out our previous article, “Crucial Information About Low Carb, Cortisol, and Glucose.”
Mindfulness meditation helps lower cortisol and stress levels.
One simple and inexpensive tool to manage cortisol levels and support your body’s anabolic processes is practicing mindfulness and meditation to relieve stress. In an article for The Conversation, lead author Manasa Shanta Yerramalla, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Therapeutic Sciences and Sociology at Karolinska Institutet, explains:8
“Chronic stress can diminish the cognitive benefits of stimulating activities and enriching experiences later in life. Adding stress management techniques, such as mindfulness and meditation, to your daily routine may help improve overall brain health and slow cognitive decline.”
Practicing “mindfulness” means actively paying attention to the present moment without letting your mind wander. This state of mind allows distracting thoughts to pass by without getting caught up in emotional meaning. You can integrate mindfulness into many everyday activities, such as eating, working, and doing household chores. Simply listen to the sensations you experience in the moment.
A study9 The study, published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice, sought to examine the effects of mindfulness meditation on cortisol levels, perceived stress, and inflammatory markers in nursing students and found that the strategy was “significantly effective” in lowering serum cortisol levels and perceived stress.
Mindfulness also promotes optimism. Thesis10 According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, mindfulness can increase the positive effects of optimism, especially when focused on a task, and the researchers emphasized that “it's best to practice both optimism and mindfulness.” For tips on how to practice mindfulness meditation, read my article “Meditation Actually Relieves Stress.”
More research supports the benefits of optimism for longevity.
According to Dr. Koga Hayami, a postdoctoral researcher at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies and lead author of the October 2022 study:11 Regarding the link between optimism, lifestyle, and longevity, optimism is generally defined as “the expectation that good things will happen or the belief that the future will be favorable because of a sense of control over important outcomes.”12
Their research,13 A study of 159,255 women from the Women’s Health Initiative found that higher levels of optimism were associated with longer lifespan. For example, women with the highest levels of optimism tended to live about 5.4 percent longer than those with the lowest levels of optimism.
“Higher optimism was associated with longer lifespan and greater likelihood of achieving superior longevity overall and across racial and ethnic groups. The contribution of lifestyle to these associations was modest. Optimism may promote health and longevity across racial and ethnic groups.” The author wrote:
Koga also participated in another study.14 The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry in March 2024, aimed to uncover the link between optimism and changes in physical ability with age. They studied 5,930 postmenopausal women and initially found that those who were more optimistic had stronger grip strength and were able to stand up more on a chair.
After a six-year follow-up, they found that women with higher optimism had less decline in walking speed and chair-standing than women with lower optimism. They concluded, “Optimism may be a promising target for intervention to slow age-related decline in physical function.”
How to develop positive thinking
Optimism may be an innate trait for some people, but it’s also a skill you can develop. Dr. Sue Varma, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at New York University and author of “Practical Optimism: The Art, Science, and Practice of Exceptional Well-being,” writes in an NPR article:15
“Even if you weren't born with this natural tendency to expect favorable outcomes and see the glass as half full, there are skills you can learn. Start by noticing how you deal with uncertainty. Do you tend to worry? Do you assume the worst? Try reframing your thoughts in an objective way: 'Is there a silver lining? Is this a problem that needs to be solved, or a truth that needs to be accepted?'”
If you’re dealing with a problem, Varma advises visualizing the best possible outcome and mapping out a detailed step-by-step path to achieve it. This approach promotes positive behavior, resilience, and the ability to bounce back from challenges.
Finding a sense of purpose and volunteering when you can can also help, but if you don’t have the time, Varma suggests changing your role at work to better fit your interests. This can be as simple as organizing an outing with colleagues to promote social activity.
Learning a new skill in sports, music, language, or other hobbies can also help distract you from negative thoughts. “Changing your mindset isn’t easy with these and other interventions, but it does help with practice,” Varma said. “It’s a toolkit, it’s a mindset. I have to practice it in my head every day.”
Promote your health with the joy of anticipation
Have you ever experienced that pleasurable feeling of anticipation before a positive event, such as a vacation, a holiday, or a simple, enjoyable meal? This feeling is captured by the German term “vorfreude.” Rachel Dixon explores this concept in an article in The Guardian.16 We discuss how to cultivate joy so that you can fully enjoy moments of joy.
Dixon outlines 30 strategies to increase your vorfreude index, according to experts. They range from simple daily practices, such as writing down one joyful moment each day, to creating a routine that gives you something to look forward to on a regular basis. For more insight on how to cultivate joy in your life, read my article, “Embrace Joy With Vorfreude.”
Take control of your mental outlook
The power of improving your health by shaping your mental outlook and taking proactive steps to manage negative emotions aligns with the principles in my forthcoming book, The Power of Choice.
All of my books to date, most of which have been bestsellers, have focused solely on diet and lifestyle strategies for physical health and longevity. The Power of Choice is also ultimately about health, but from a different perspective: the connection to consciousness.
One of the key lessons of this book is that life is about creating joy. You have ultimate control over the experiences you encounter, because they are entirely shaped by your personal choices. If your life lacks fulfillment, it may be your true self telling you to make different choices that will lead you to a more fulfilling existence.
I intentionally capitalize “Self” and “Joy” to emphasize their deeper, more transcendent essence. Self represents the infinite, immortal consciousness, while Joy represents a profound state of contentment that comes from within oneself.
Remember, every moment presents an opportunity to choose joy and cultivate a positive mindset. By cultivating optimism, practicing mindfulness, and making conscious choices that align with your authentic self, you are not only improving your mental state, but you are also potentially protecting your long-term cognitive health and longevity.
