Remember the past negatively impaired health.

Spain, September of 2011- the return to work after the holidays is to many a nightmare. improving health remember the past in a positive way? A research of the University of Granada (UGR) States that the attitude of people towards the past events, the present experiences and future expectations, influences the perception of health and their quality of life.

We have observed that when people have a negative attitude toward the past of his life, and at the same time events, is a pessimistic or fatalistic attitude towards the present events, generated major problems in its relations and these people are posing the worst indicators on quality of health ”, explains to SINC Christian Oyanadelthe UGR researcher and co-author of the study that publishes the magazine Universitas Psychologica.

The researchers assessed by means of questionnaires and tests of time estimate to 50 individuals (25 women and 25 men between 20 and 70 years) of a random sample. The profile of temporal orientation was measured applying the test called inventory of temporal orientation of Zimbardo, designed in United States and validated in many countries – included Spain –. This test contains five dimensions describing attitudes towards the past, present and future.

Once grouped by profiles according to his estimate of the time, applied to the respondents an quality of life questionnaire to measure their physical and mental health.

As noted in our study, the most influential dimension is the perception of the past. A vision negative of this is highly related to worst health indicators ”, pointing the researcher.

People with this negative trend reported difficulties to work physically in daily activities and physical limitations for the work performance; they perceive greater bodily pain and have increased susceptibility to illness.

Thinking about the future does not damage the health

Three temporary profiles found among the study participants correspond to three styles: predominantly negative and predominantly oriented to the future – the two more extreme – and another more balanced.

Balanced profile is the ideal job that results from a healthy attitude in all three time zones. They are people who learn positively from past experiences, are aimed at the fulfilment and autoexigencias of targets in the future, but not to neglect the possibility of living pleasant and enjoyable experiences and emotions ”.

Also, these people have a higher score on the capabilities of physical effort, better overall mental health, less tendency to become ill and less perception of discomfort and body aches.

On the other hand, people oriented to the future, in other words, to leave everything to meet goals and demands personal forgetting to live pleasant experiences present and with little connection to their positive past experience, have poor physical and mental health, but this is of lesser quality than the balanced group ”, concludes Oyanadel.

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