Optimists Live Longer

How long will you live? There's an easy way to find out -- or at least get a ballpark figure. Visit Deathclock, answer a few questions and voila! -- you'll receive an exact count, in seconds, no less, of your remaining time on Earth. The amazing thing is the difference attitude makes. For example, when I listed "normal" in the mode box, Deathclock gave me twenty years to live. But change the mode to "optimistic" and -- whoa! -- I'll be here until 2049, as long as I look on the bright side! (By the way, Deathclock is not just a gruesome reminder that we're all "circling the drain" -- there's a lot of excellent health information there, too.)

Just in case you're not buying the "attitude is everything" line, a new study confirms it. Researchers found that older individuals (between the ages of 70 and 79) with the fewest signs of depression at the beginning of the study were nearly 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with a health problem during the next five years. The emotionally healthy group was also 76 percent less likely to become depressed and they had a 30 percent lower risk of dementia.

The study, which involved more than 2,600 people, also measured the effects of physical health and mental functions. Not surprisingly, those in good shape were nearly 50 percent less likely to become debilitated during the study and 29 percent less likely to die. As for mental functions, those who were sharpest when the study began were a whopping 77 percent less likely to be diagnosed with dementia.

(Full disclosure: a hat-tip to www.owhata.com for the Death Clock link. Next time you feel you're not wasting enough of your life on the Internets, check out owhata -- loads of great stuff!)