17. Maternal affection helps infants learn how to cope with stress. Cortisol floods a baby’s brain when they are stressed; overexposure may impair his or her ability to regulate cortisol levels. Expressing love to an infant by caring for them teaches them to regulate stress (Gerhardt).
24. Increased life span: “According to a Dutch study of elderly patients, upbeat mental states reduced an individual’s risk of death 50% over the study’s nine-year duration” (Lemonick & Cray).
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26. When people are happier, they tend to take better care of themselves (Lemonick & Cray).