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Do you tend to see the glass as half empty or half full? You have probably heard that question plenty of times. Your answer relates directly to the concept of positive thinking and whether you have a positive or negative outlook on life. How you see your life can have a significant impact on both your mental and physical health.

Positive thinking plays an important role in positive psychology, a subfield devoted to the study of what makes people happy and fulfilled.

Research has found positive thinking can aid stress management and overall health and well-being. It can help combat feelings of low self-esteem, improve physical health, and help brighten your overall outlook on life.

What Is Positive Thinking, Exactly?

Positive thinking means approaching life’s challenges with a positive outlook. It doesn’t mean seeing the world through rose-colored lenses by ignoring or glossing over life’s negative aspects.

Some researchers, including positive psychologist Martin Seligman, frame positive thinking in terms of explanatory style. Your explanatory style is how you explain why events happened.

• Optimistic explanatory style: People with an optimistic explanatory style tend to give themselves credit when good things happen and typically blame outside forces for bad outcomes. They also tend to see negative events as temporary and atypical.
• Pessimistic explanatory style: People with a pessimistic explanatory style often blame themselves when bad things happen, but fail to give themselves adequate credit for successful outcomes. They also tend to view adverse events as expected and lasting. As you can imagine, blaming yourself for events outside of your control or viewing these unfortunate events as a persistent part of your life can harm your state of mind.

Positive thinkers are more apt to use an optimistic explanatory style, but how people attribute events can also vary depending on the exact situation. For example, a person who is generally a positive thinker might use a more pessimistic explanatory style in particularly challenging situations, such as at work or school.

Positive Psychology vs. Positive Thinking

While the terms “positive thinking” and “positive psychology” are sometimes used interchangeably, it is important to understand that they are not the same thing.

• Positive thinking is about seeing things from a positive perspective and maintaining a positive, optimistic attitude.
• Positive psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the effects of optimism, what causes it, and when it is best utilized.

Health Benefits of Positive Thinking

In recent years, the so-called “power of positive thinking” has gained a great deal of attention thanks to self-help books such as “The Secret.” These pop-psychology books often tout positive thinking or philosophies like the law of attraction as a sort of psychological panacea, often oversimplifying and exaggerating the effects.

Some of the health benefits associated with positive thinking include:

• Better stress management and coping skills
• Enhanced psychological health
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Increased physical well-being
• Longer life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease-related death

A 2018 study published in the Journal of Aging Research found that having a positive mental attitude was linked to decreased mortality over a 35-year period. People who had a more positive outlook were also more likely to get regular physical exercise, avoid smoking, eat a healthier diet, and get more quality sleep.

Clearly, there are many benefits of positive thinking. But why, exactly, does positive thinking have such a strong impact on physical and mental health?

One theory is that people who think positively tend to be less affected by stress. Research suggests that having more positive automatic thoughts helps people become more resilient in the face of life’s stressful events. Older research has shown that people who had high levels of positive thinking were more likely to walk away from stressful life events with a higher sense of the meaningfulness of life.

Another possibility is that people who think positively tend to live healthier lives in general; they may exercise more, follow a more nutritious diet, and avoid unhealthy behaviors.

How to Practice It

While you might be more prone to negative thinking, there are strategies that you can use to become a more positive thinker. Practicing these strategies regularly can help you get in the habit of maintaining a more positive outlook on life.

• Notice your thoughts: Start paying attention to the type of thoughts you have each day. If you notice that many of them are negative, make a conscious effort to reframe how you are thinking in a more positive way.
• Write in a gratitude journal: Practicing gratitude can have a range of positive benefits, including helping you develop a better outlook. Experiencing grateful thoughts helps people feel more optimistic. Spend a few moments each day writing about the things you are thankful for in a gratitude journal.
• Use positive self-talk: How you talk to yourself can play an important role in shaping your outlook. Studies have shown that shifting to more positive self-talk can have a positive impact on your emotions and how you respond to stress.

Potential Pitfalls

While there are many benefits to thinking positively, there are actually times when more realistic thinking is advantageous. For example, in some situations, negative thinking can actually lead to more accurate decisions and outcomes.

However, research suggests that realistic optimism might be the ideal. The results of a 2021 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin revealed that people who have mistaken expectations, whether those expectations are optimistic or pessimistic, tend to fare worse in terms of mental health when compared to realists. 

The authors of the study suggest that the disappointment that optimists experience when their high hopes are not realized can negatively impact well-being. This doesn’t mean that people should strive to be pessimistic thinkers, since studies indicate that people with a negative outlook tend to fare the worst. Instead, having a generally positive outlook that is focused on realistic expectations may be the best approach. 

In some cases, inappropriately applied positive thinking can cross the line into what is known as toxic positivity. This involves insisting on maintaining a positive mindset no matter how upsetting, dire, or damaging a situation might be. This type of excessive positivity can impede authentic communication and cause people to experience feelings of shame or guilt if they struggle to maintain such an overly positive outlook.

Takeaways

Even if you are not a natural-born optimist, there are things you can do to learn how to think more positively and become a positive thinker. One of the first steps is to focus on your own inner monologue and to pay attention to your self-talk. Changing your attributional and explanatory style doesn’t happen overnight, but with time and practice, you can develop a more positive outlook on yourself and on life.

The central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain and spinal cord, is one of the most important parts of your body. The three broad functions of the CNS are to take in sensory information, process information, and send out motor signals. It controls how you think, feel, and respond to the world around you.

Central Nervous System Functions

The CNS receives sensory information from the nervous system and controls the body’s responses. The central nervous system plays a primary role in receiving information from various areas of the body and then coordinating this activity to produce the body’s responses.

You can think of it as the body’s common center, taking in information, figuring out what to do with it, and sending out instructions for your body to respond. Every time you breathe, solve a problem, or react to a sound, your central nervous system works behind the scenes to control your body’s responses. Without it, basic functions like walking, talking, or even remembering the lyrics to your favorite song wouldn’t be possible.

CNS Structure

The CNS has three main components:

• The brain
• The spinal cord
• The neurons (or nerve cells)

Each part of the CNS plays an important role in how the body functions, and the three components of the CNS work together to take in information and control how the body responds.

The Brain

The brain controls many of the body’s functions including sensation, thought, movement, awareness, and memory. The surface of the brain is known as the cerebral cortex. The surface of the cortex appears bumpy thanks to the grooves and folds of the tissue. Each groove is known as a sulcus, while each bump is known as a gyrus.

The largest part of the brain is the cerebrum. It is responsible for functions such as memory, speech, voluntary behaviors, and thought.

The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres, the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. The right hemisphere controls movements on the body’s left side, while the left hemisphere controls movements on the body’s right side.

Each hemisphere of the brain is then divided into four interconnected lobes:

• Frontal lobes are associated with higher cognition, voluntary movements, and language.
• Occipital lobes are associated with visual processes.
• Parietal lobes are associated with processing sensory information.
• Temporal lobes are associated with hearing and interpreting sounds as well as the formation of memories.

Other important areas of the brain include the basal ganglia, cerebellum, Broca’s area, corpus callosum, medulla oblongata, hypothalamus, thalamus, and amygdala.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord connects to the brain via the brain stem and then runs down through the spinal canal, located inside the vertebrae. The spinal cord carries information from various parts of the body to and from the brain.

While it varies from one individual to the next, the spinal cord is about 18 inches in length. At the brainstem, 31 spinal nerves enter into the spinal cord. The nerves of the spinal cord consist of:

• 8 cervical nerves
• 12 thoracic nerves
• 5 lumbar nerves
• 5 sacral nerves
• 1 coccygeal nerve

In the case of some reflex movements, responses are controlled by spinal pathways without involvement from the brain. Examples include the Golgi tendon reflex, the crossed extensor reflex, and the stretch reflex.

Neurons

Neurons are the building blocks of the central nervous system. Billions of these nerve cells can be found throughout the body and communicate with one another to produce physical responses and actions.

Most neurons are divided into three basic sections: dendrites, cell body, and axon. These cells also differ in terms of function. The three types of neurons are afferent neurons, efferent neurons, and interneurons. 

• Efferent neurons are motor neurons that carry signals from the brain to the peripheral nervous system.
• Afferent neurons are sensory neurons that bring information from the senses to the brain.
• Interneurons are association neurons that connect efferent and afferent neurons to the central nervous system.

Protective Structures

Since the CNS is so important, it is protected by a number of structures. First, the entire CNS is enclosed in bone. The brain is protected by the skull. The spinal cord is encased by the vertebrae that make up the spinal column. 

The brain and spinal cord are both covered with a protective tissue known as meninges. There are three layers of meninges protecting the brain and spinal cord:

• Dura mater: From the Latin words meaning “hard mother,” this is the top layer of the meninges found directly under the bones of the skull and vertebrae. It is composed of dense connective tissue.
• Arachnoid mater: The second layer of the meninges is a spider-like, transparent membrane made up of collagen and elastic fibers.
• Pia mater: From the Latin for “soft mother,” this protective layer is the innermost layer of the meninges. It is made of delicate connective tissue that is filled with tiny blood vessels that provide nourishment for the brain.

The entire CNS is also immersed in cerebrospinal fluid, which forms a chemical environment that allows nerve fibers to transmit information effectively and offers yet another layer of protection from potential damage.

Diseases of the Central Nervous System

There are a number of problems and diseases that can affect the CNS. Damage or disease to the central nervous system can produce a range of effects.  Some of the conditions that can impact the CNS include:

• Degenerative diseases: Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease can cause the degeneration of cells in pivotal areas of the brain, affecting functions such as movement and memory.
• Infections: Viruses, bacteria, and fungi can invade the central nervous system, causing symptoms and/or damage.
• Stroke: A blockage of blood flow to the brain prevents oxygen from reaching the tissues of the brain. This results in damage to the affected area and can lead to impairment or death.
• Trauma: Injury to the CNS can cause a number of problems ranging from paralysis to death.
• Tumors: Cancerous and benign tumors can grow in different areas of the CNS. The impact of these tumors depends on their location and size.