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Optimism reduced inflammation in people's bodies. Here are the researcher’s tips for thinking more positively
“This isn’t new knowledge. But perhaps it should be used in the doctor's office,” says researcher.
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In a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), researchers find that practising optimism and gratitude has a positive effect on physical health.
Adults had slightly less inflammation in their bodies when they participated in positive psychological activities. The activities were designed to strengthen them and give them more positive emotions.
Maja Eilertsen is the first author of the new study. She has also worked as a GP and seen people in many situations and how their quality of life has affected them.
"Seems to work like an antidote"
She finds research on quality of life and health exciting.
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“Can we implement measures to improve quality of life that also affect physical health?”
This has become an important question in Eilertsen's research.
She says that many decades of research show that chronic stress creates inflammation in the body.
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“Participating in activities that are designed to promote quality of life, on the other hand, seems to work like an antidote and reduces inflammation,” she explains.
The researchers collected data from 25 other studies. Altogether, this includes more than 1,600 people from different parts of the world.
Risk of chronic diseases
Eilertsen explains how the mental and physical are connected: When we’re stressed, a hormone called cortisol is released. It negatively affects the immune system and creates inflammation.
“This low-grade inflammation forms the basis for most chronic diseases,” she says.
These kinds of inflammation do not have symptoms.
In the darkness of December, it is especially important to take steps to avoid falling into winter depression, the researcher notes.
“We need daylight to function as well as possible. It’s hard for the body and soul to get through the dark season. Activities that improve quality of life are especially important during those periods,” she says.
Activities that promote quality of life will reduce the stress from activities that drain us and at the same time give more of what nourishes us, says Eilertsen. But what can we do specifically?
Music and nature
Eilertsen highlights five pieces of advice from another research project about mental well-being.
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“These guidelines have deep evolutionary roots. If we don’t feel like we belong, for example, the stress response system is activated,” says Eilertsen.
In the studies Eilertsen and her colleagues obtained data from, several concrete measures emerged, like gratitude exercises or listening to music. And nature is good medicine.
“This isn’t new knowledge. But perhaps it should be used in the doctor's office?” she says.
Nature helps even when we aren’t active
There are several reasons why nature experiences are good for us, says Helga Synnevåg Løvoll. She is a professor at Volda University College's Department of Sports and Outdoor Life.
“Some research shows that being in nature, in contact with greenery, affects us in many ways, even without us actively doing anything actively," she says.
Even indoors, organic materials like wood or a window facing a green space can have a positive effect, she says.
“It's only in the most recent time of human history that we have moved more towards an indoor life compared to living in nature. The question is whether we have managed to adapt to these new surroundings, or whether we have more of that primitive human in us than we’re aware of,” says Løvoll.
We can train our expectations
“Bad weather on its own can make it harder than usual to get yourself out the door,” says Løvoll.
Fog, mud, and rain can make us forget that we actually like being out in nature.
“You might think that getting dressed to go out can be a chore. But what kind of mindset are you meeting the situation with? That's something you can train,” she says.
Back to working on our optimisim, then.
Nature increases our sense of belonging
“It’s about the simple things. You have to learn to value paying attention to nature, notice the birdlife and the colours. And even if it's grey outside, there's always a lot of variation and colour, both in the sky and on the ground,” says Løvoll.
Nature can help us put things in our lives into perspective, she says.
“It's about recognising that our existence is inseparably tied to nature, and what that means for being human. An active relationship with nature makes us feel more alive and at home,” she says. “We experience a greater sense of belonging.”
And when it comes to the winter darkness, Løvoll believes we should embrace it and use it for something good.
“The dark mood invites slightly more inward-looking perspectives that help us tune in more closely to the seasons,” says Løvoll.
Nature has become medicine in Japan
But we often need a push to get started. Could the doctor's office be a place to start getting more people to use nature as medicine, as Eilertsen suggests?
In Southeast Asia, research has long been conducted on the relationship between contact with nature, sense of belonging to nature, and physical health, says Løvoll.
“The knowledge from this research has now been integrated into standard medical treatment in Japan,” she says.
However, she is aware that a doctor's words are often not enough.
Through the forest with music in your ears
“I think nature guides and outdoor instructors should also be included in such an initiative,” says Løvoll.
She points out that a lot of people who already use nature may not experience it that much. Many of them run through the forest with music filling their ears.
Løvoll is a trained Norwegian nature guide, and she has taken further training in Shinrin-yoku. It's popularly called 'forest bathing,' as in immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere. You learn to sharpen your senses out in nature.
Løvoll refers to a new review study on Shinrin-yoku from China. It’s findings are similar to the study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The participants experienced a decrease in their cortisol levels when they spent time in nature in this way.
"Beyond that, take the initiative to invite a friend, whether you're a child or adult. That adds a social dimension to the experience of nature," she suggests.
Reference:
Eilertsen et al. Effects of Positive Psychology Interventions on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Cortisol: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, vol. 10, 2025. DOI: 10.1007/s41042-025-00258-6
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Translated by Ingrid P. Nuse
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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