The Connection Between Optimism and Your Brain

There are many upsides to having a positive outlook: People with sunny dispositions tend to be less lonely, for example, and they may be more resilient in the face of life's setbacks. Being an optimist may also help support your brain, research shows.

Optimism is associated with better episodic memory and executive function as you age, according to a study published in The International Journal of Aging and Human Development in 2023 that analyzed data from 2,205 adults in their 40s to 90s. Researchers who completed a study published in 2022 in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B sought to understand ways in which optimism may promote emotional well-being as people age. The study followed 233 older men for two decades, finding that the optimistic men learned to shift their perceptions of — or avoid altogether — distressing situations.

If you’re not naturally a “glass is half full” type, take heart. You can train yourself to think like an optimist and reap the same rewards, research suggests. In a study of nearly 100 people ages 60 to 70 in Iran, those who were randomly assigned to receive positive thinking training had greater resilience and life satisfaction at the end of the trial compared with the control group. The training involved a weekly 90-minute group session for eight consecutive weeks; participants learned about different positive psychology concepts and completed writing assignments at home that they discussed with the group at the next session, as reported in Scientific Reports in 2023.

Even something as simple as keeping a journal may help you be more optimistic. One positive psychology technique, known as Best Possible Self, or BPS, involves writing about what your future best possible life would look like. BPS was an effective strategy for improving well-being, according to a meta-analysis published in PLoS One in 2019 that analyzed 29 studies involving more than 2,900 participants.