Researchers from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) conducted a study with 6203 adults to understand if certain character traits could increase life expectancy in good health. In a British health study, the Manchester Longitudinal Study of Cognition, scientists followed participants for 29 years. The scientists analyzed their cognitive performance on 15 different tasks and in 5 skill domains: intelligence, adaptability, verbal memory, visual memory and processing speed. Their health was scrutinized with the Cornell Medical Index scale which takes into account 195 pathological symptoms related to different physical and psychological disorders.
Being quick-witted leads to a longer life
The findings of this study confirmed that the smoking was a risk factor for premature death or that being a woman a factor of longevity. But they also revealed that there were psychological factors that could predict a long life. Thinking fast and feeling fit are two extremely strong predictors of a longer and healthier life.
“That these psychological variables are so strongly related to mortality risk is very surprising, as there is a lot of evidence supporting the hypothesis of medical or physiological predictors of survival,” says lead author Dr. Aichele.
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