Washington: Stay happy and stay away from the common cold.

A new study, published in the July issue of 'Psychosomatic Medicine', has found that people who are energetic, happy and relaxed are less likely to catch a cold than those who are depressed, nervous or angry.

Study participants, who had a positive emotional style weren't infected as often and experienced fewer symptoms compared to people with a negative emotional style, say Sheldon Cohen, a professor of Carnegie Mellon University and colleagues.

For the study, Cohen's team interviewed 334 healthy volunteers three evenings a week for two weeks to assess their emotional states. After their assessment, each volunteer got a squirt in the nose of a rhinovirus – the germ that causes colds.

"We found that experiencing positive emotions was associated with greater resistance to developing a common cold. Increases in positive emotional styles were linked with decreases in the rate of clinical colds, but a negative emotional style had no effect on whether or not people got sick," the researcher said.

ANI