There's a lot to be said for an optimistic outlook , but a new study suggests that interpreting other people's emotions as more positive than they actually are could be a sign of brain aging and mental decline.

This 'positivity bias' is known to happen as we get older. According to socioemotional selectivity theory , it's a mechanism that helps us focus on the good as our futures shrink, protecting mental well-being by downplaying the negative.

But a team of researchers from the UK and Israel suggests something different: that the bias is actually a sign of cognitive decline and could even be an early warning for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's .

"Our study supports the idea that age-related positivity reflects neurodegeneration, but this requires confirmation i

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