Friday, 6 January 2017

Positive Psychology Influences Gene Expression

That's right!  Pursuing positive psychology actually influences your genetic code to turn on (or off) certain expressions, making a difference to your health.

People with high levels of eudaimonic well-being — the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life — showed very favorable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells. They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

 However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being — the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification (as is widely taught in our consumer society) — actually showed just the opposite. They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression.

 http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/psychology/science-positive-psychology-gene-expression-humans-01305.html