Stay active and calm to live longer

Men and women who are active, emotionally calm, and organised live longer than people with less positive personality traits such as anxiety, anger, or fearfulness.To examine the association between personality traits and longevity, researchers from Maryland studied 2,359 persons, aged between 17 and 98 years. The participants were asked to complete questionnaires to judge their personality traits. During the follow up of 18 years, 943 i.e. 40 percent of the participants died. It was found that those who scored above average in measures of general activity, emotional stability, or conscientiousness lived on an average 2 to 3 years longer than those who scored below average. Among women, higher assertiveness was also linked to lower risk of death. Further, among participants who died of cardiovascular diseases, the most significant predictors of death were anxiety, depression, vulnerability, and anger.The above findings, which were independent of two other major health risk factors- smoking and obesity, indicate that people who are more active and energetic, less likely to become angry or anxious, and are better informed, disciplined, organised, and resourceful tend to live longer. The findings add to the growing body of evidence that enduring cognitive, emotional, and behavioural tendencies have significant influence on health and longevity.

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