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Scientists reveal the specific personality traits that could help you live longer.
While biohacker Bryan Johnson pushes himself to extremes while trying to reverse aging, most people know the basics for a long, healthy life.
Exercising every day, eating well, and avoiding harmful habits like smoking and excessive drinking are the basics to follow for good health.
But what if your personality also had a part to play in your longevity?
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It turns out that being organised, engaged, and helpful doesn't just make you pleasant to be around, it might actually help you live longer.
In a study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, longevity experts suggest that their findings could help doctors predict health risks based on how individuals describe themselves and behave.
"Rather than looking at broad, catch-all personality types like extroverted or conscientious, we zoomed in on individual descriptions: the precise ways people talked about themselves when filling out standardised personality questionnaires," said Professor Rene Mottus, an expert in ageing and individual differences and study co-author.
The study followed more than 22,000 adults across four major research projects, with follow-up periods ranging from six to 28 years.
Prof Mottus found the self-description of 'active' to be the 'most striking' in the results.
"Participants who described themselves this way were significantly less likely to die during the study period—with a 21 per cent lower risk, even when age, gender and medical conditions were taken into account," the study co-author added.
Other traits that came in as close seconds included being energetic, organised, responsible, hard-working, thorough, and helpful.
Perhaps most surprising was that these specific personality traits predicted mortality risk more accurately than the five broader personality categories psychologists typically use: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
According to Professor Páraic O’Súilleabháin, psychology professor at the University of Limerick and study co-author, the 'significance of the study lies in its precision.'
He explained: "Our study suggests personality works not just as a general influence but as a set of specific behaviours and attitudes—and those individual characteristics have a measurable impact on longevity."
So, essentially, the longevity comes from the specifics. Two people might both be extroverted, but the one who channels that energy into hard-working or helpful activities is seemingly more likely to live longer.
"People can be similarly conscientious or extroverted in different ways," Prof. Mottus explained. "It's these nuanced differences that matter—possibly even for how long we live."
On the other hand, the researchers found that negative traits seem to have the opposite effect. People who said they frequently experienced anxiety, were generally moody or got easily upset, were more likely to die earlier.
While that might sound horrifying at first, there is good news. The scientists assured that longevity isn't predetermined, and how long you live, like your personality, isn't fixed.
"What our research does suggest, however, is that personality could play a supporting role—one that's underestimated in medicine and public health," Prof O’Súilleabháin confirmed.
The study also acknowledged that known risk factors, such as physical inactivity, chronic illness, and BMI, account for some of the connection between personality and lifespan.
"This means being 'organised' might help people to stick to routines that improve health, but it may also reflect underlying psychological resilience or social habits that contribute to a longer life," Prof O’Súilleabháin stated.
