Consuming a nutritious diet that is rich in vitamins and antioxidants is an important part of healthy aging. But maintaining a positive attitude may be just as important, suggests a new study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

A team of German researchers analyzed the brain activity of participants who were asked to look at happy, neutral or sad images. They found that participants whose brains were more activated by the happy pictures were more likely to be emotionally stable and prefer emotionally gratifying experiences.

This has important implications for healthy aging because previous research has shown that individuals who have a preference for positive emotions tend to live longer, healthier lives.

The researchers said that their findings show the importance of maintaining a positive attitude while aging and suggests that individuals may benefit from refocusing their thoughts to spend more time on happy emotions.

Aside from a vitamin-rich diet, keeping a positive attitude may be the most important thing a person can do to age well. While this may not come natural to some people, there are many ways positivity can be worked on.