Is that glass half empty or half full? Your answer may affect your blood pressure.

Older people who have a sense of self-worth, feel happy and hopeful, and enjoy life have lower blood pressure compared to their more pessimistic peers. Here's how good feelings can reach all the way into your blood vessels.

Good feelings can help reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that's related to high blood pressure. So the benefits of good feelings don't stop at just feeling good. Researchers speculate that the chemical and neural reactions people have to positive thoughts and feelings may help keep all of the body's various systems in balance. So your heart, your arteries -- even your immune system -- benefit.

Have you harnessed the power of positive thinking? Here's how to cope, adapt, and react to life's trials and tribulations in more positive ways:

• Try to look on the bright side during times of change.
• Make a list of the possibilities and opportunities that could come out of any obstacles you face.
• Surround yourself with happy, positive people. They may rub off on you! And strong social ties help you power through the tough times in life.

Cultivating positive emotions is one good thing you can do for your blood pressure. Here's another.