Reasons to be cheerful: optimists live longer, says study
乐观一点吧：研究显示乐天派更长寿
People who have a rosy outlook on the world may live healthier, longer lives because they have fewer stressful events to cope with, new research suggests.
新研究显示，拥有积极乐观世界观的人更健康、更长寿，因为他们面对的压力事件更少。
Scientists found that while optimists reacted to, and recovered from, stressful situations in much the same way as pessimists, the optimists fared better emotionally because they had fewer stressful events in their daily lives.
科学家发现，尽管面对压力局面时，乐观者和悲观者在反应和恢复方面差不多，但乐观者的情绪更为健康，因为他们日产生活中的压力事件更少。
How optimists minimise their dose of stress is unclear, but the researchers believe they either avoid arguments, lost keys, traffic jams and other irritations, or simply fail to perceive them as stressful in the first place.
乐观者如何将其压力值最小化这一点尚不明确，但研究者认为他们能不去理会诸如争论、丢钥匙或者交通堵塞这种烦心事，或者一开始就没有把它们作为压力事件。
Previous studies have found evidence that optimists live longer and healthier lives, but researchers do not fully understand why having a glass-half-full attitude might contribute to healthy ageing.
之前的研究已经发现有证据表明乐观者更为长寿、健康，但是研究者不完全理解为什么有乐观的态度能让人们健康地变老。
“ Given prior work linking optimism to longevity, healthy ageing, and lower risks of major diseases, it seemed like a logical next step to study whether optimism might protect against the effects of stress among older adults,” said Dr Lewina Lee, a clinical psychologist at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System and assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University.
鉴于此前的研究将乐观与长寿、健康地变老以及重大疾病更低的风险相联系，下一步似乎就应该研究乐观能否保护老年人免受压力的负面影响，退伍军人事务部波士顿医疗保健机构临床心理医生、波士顿大学精神病学助理教授莱维娜·李博士表示。
Lee and her colleagues analysed information provided by 233 men who were at least 21 years old when they enrolled in the US Veterans Affairs Normative Ageing Study between 1961 and 1970. Surveys in the 1980s and 90s assessed the men’s levels of optimism.
李和同事分析了来自233位男性的信息，这些男性在1961至1970年间注册了美国退伍军人事务规范老龄化研究，其中年龄最小的是21岁。研究人员在20世纪80年代和90年代对这些男性的乐观程度进行了评估。
Between 2002 and 2010, they completed up to three eight-day-long diary entries that recorded their mood and any stressful situations they encountered.
在2002至2010年间，他们完成了至多三个为期八天的日记条目的撰写，记录了他们的情绪以及遇到的压力事件。
The researchers suspected that the optimists might bounce back more swiftly than pessimists, and return to a good mood faster following a stressful event. But the data did not bear this out.
研究者怀疑乐观者可能比悲观者恢复得更快，而且在压力事件之后能够更快地重拾好情绪，但是数据却没有证实这一点。
“ We found that more optimistic men reported having fewer daily stressors, which partially explained their lower levels of negative mood,” Lee said.
“我们发现更乐观的人报告有更少的日常压力源，这在一定程度上解释了他们更低的负面情绪水平，”李表示。
“ That suggested to us that perhaps more optimistic men either limited their exposure to stressful situations, or that they were less likely to perceive or label situations as stressful.”
“这一点显示出，更乐观的人或许是避免将自己暴露在压力情形之下，或许是更不可能将某些情形视为或定义为压力事件。”
Levels of optimism or pessimism tend to be fairly stable across people’s lives, but Lee believes there are ways to foster a more rosy outlook for those who want to.
乐观或悲观的程度在人们的一生中往往是很稳定的，但是李认为如果想要培养乐观心态的话，还是有一些方法的。
“ A more optimistic thought does not mean being Pollyanna-ish or ignoring risks, which is a common misconception about optimism. It may involve acknowledging our strengths, past examples of success, and areas over which we have control, so that we can arrive at a more positive and confident outlook,” she added.
“乐观的想法并不意味着盲目乐观或者是对风险视而不见，这是对乐观的常见误解。若要做到乐观，我们需要认识到我们的长处，自己成功的经验，以及自己可控的领域，这样我们就能拥有更为积极、自信的观念，”她补充道。
