Cheer up and keep colds at bay

Happy and relaxed people catch fewer colds, say scientists. Even when they do fall ill, their symptoms are less severe.

People who are depressed, nervous or angry do not catch more colds, but they are more likely to complain about having one even when they don't, according to the researchers in Pennsylvania.

They say their study - reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine - indicates that mental outlook has an effect on the strength of a person's immune response.

The research team assessed 334 healthy volunteers to establish whether they were mainly optimistic or pessimistic.

Then they squirted the cold germ rhinovirus up all their noses and watched them for five days to see how symptoms developed.

Lead researcher Dr Sheldon Cohen said that developing a more positive outlook on life could help people reduce the risk of colds - and by extension, other infectious diseases.

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