囧研究:健康在於和自己差的人比較

Although French singer Edith Piaf defiantly sang that she would have no regrets, most people will look back and say "if only" at many points in their lives。

But holding on to "what might have been" can actually be detrimental to your health。

Scientists from Concordia University found that people who compared themselves to successful friends and neighbors caught more colds than people who did the same with those they considered worse off。

Lead author Dr Isabelle Bauer, said: "Our study examined how younger and older adults cope with life regrets."

"One common coping mechanism was through social comparisons, which can be both good and bad, depending on whether people think they can undo their regrets."

"Generally if people compare themselves to those who are worse off, they're going to feel better."

"When they compare themselves to people who are better off, it can make them feel worse."

The researchers asked 104 adults of various ages to complete a survey about their greatest regrets。

These ranged from not spending enough time with their family to having married the wrong person. Participants were then asked to report how the severity of their own regrets compared to the regrets of other people their age。

The scientists found those who regularly considered those less fortunate than themselves reported a positive effect on their emotional well-being。

Senior author Professor Carsten Wrosch, said: "The emotional distress of regrets can trigger biological disregulation of the hormone and immune systems that makes people more vulnerable to develop clinical health problems - whether a cold or other potentially longer-term health problems. "

"In this study, we showed that downward social comparisons can improve emotional well-being and help prevent health problems."

Unlike findings from previous studies on the same topic, age did not determine how effectively people reconciled their life regrets。

Dr Bauer said: "Moving on and being able to maintain good emotional well-being depends greatly on an individual's opportunity to correct the cause of their regrets."法國歌手伊迪絲•琵雅芙固執地唱出不留任何遺憾的心聲，然而大部人往往對人生的某些節點“悔不當初”。

然而這種“悔不當初”的心境卻會有損健康。

康科迪亞大學的科學家發現那些慣於同成功的朋友鄰居比較的人感冒的次數比那些習慣“比下”的人多。

該研究的首席作者伊莎貝爾•鮑爾博士稱：“我們研究了各年齡階段的成年人處理人生遺憾的方式。”

“其中一項共同的處理模式就是進行社會比較。然而比較是把雙刃劍，關鍵在於人們是否認爲能夠消除這些遺憾。”

“一般說來， '比上'讓人感覺更遺憾，'比下'則能舒緩情緒。”

研究人員讓104名年齡各異的成人完成一項關於人生最大遺憾的調查，遺憾包括與家人相聚時間太少，夫妻性格不合等。實驗要求受試者根據同齡人的遺憾報告自己的遺憾程度。

科學家發現那些經常和不及自己幸運的人比較的人心理情緒狀態更爲積極。

高級作家卡斯騰•霍什教授說：“心理遺憾導致的情緒壓力會引發荷爾蒙和免疫系統紊亂，讓人更容易出現臨牀健康問題，像感冒或者其他潛在的長期健康隱患。”

本次研究和以往類似話題的研究結果不同，年齡對人們如何處理人生遺憾並沒有太大影響。

鮑爾博士稱：“能否出現遺憾仍積極生活並保持樂觀情緒，很大程度取決於個人能否有機會糾正遺憾產生的原因。”