Dick Van Dyke credits his longevity to his positive outlook – and research says optimists live longer

Dick Van Dyke, the legendary American actor and comedian who starred in classics such as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, turns 100 on December 13. The beloved actor credits his remarkable longevity to his positive outlook and never getting angry.

While longevity of course comes down to many factors – including genetics and lifestyle – there is some truth to Van Dyke’s claims. Numerous studies have shown that keeping stress levels low and maintaining a positive, optimistic outlook are correlated with longevity.

For instance, in the early 1930s researchers asked a group of 678 novice nuns – most of whom were around 22 years of age – to write an autobiography when they joined a convent.

Six decades later, researchers analysed their works. They also compared their analyses with the women’s long-term health outcomes.

The researchers found that women who expressed more positive emotion early in life (such as saying they felt grateful, instead of resentful) lived an average of ten years longer than those whose writing tended to be more negative.

A UK study also found that people who were more optimistic lived between 11% and 15% longer than their pessimistic counterparts.

And, in 2022, a study which looked at around 160,000 women from a range of ethnic backgrounds found that those who reported being more optimistic were more likely to live into their 90s compared to pessimists.