Nostalgia good for health

Thinking fondly about the past can make you more excited about what's to come, according to a new study.

This study has showed that recollecting happy memories can improve your health.

Nostalgia seems to spur optimism for the future because it "raises self-esteem which in turn heightens optimism," study researcher Dr. Tim Wildschut, of the University of Southampton, said in a statement.

"Memories of the past can help to maintain current feelings of self-worth and can contribute to a brighter outlook on the future," he added. "Our findings do imply that nostalgia, by promoting optimism, could help individuals cope with psychological adversity."

For one of the experiments, study participants were asked to either write about a nostalgic event, or an ordinary event. The participants who were asked to write about the nostalgic event used more optimistic words and expressions in their writing, versus those who wrote about the ordinary event.

In another experiment, researchers had study participants listen to either a nostalgic song or a control song (which had been validated in past research to not arouse feelings of nostalgia). Researchers then asked the participants to report their levels of optimistic feelings after listening to the music. Those who listened to the nostalgic song reported higher optimism levels than those who listened to the control song.