Being organised, active and helpful could not just make you a better person, it may even help you live longer. On the other hand, being frequently stressed, anxious or moody could be linked to a shorter lifespan.
Researchers said their findings, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, could help doctors develop tools for predicting health risks based not only on blood pressure and cholesterol but also on how someone tends to think, feel and behave.
René Mõttus, a psychologist and co-author of the study, said: “Rather than looking at broad, catch-all personality types like extroverted or conscientious, we zoomed in on individual descriptors: the precise ways people talked about themselves when filling out standardised personality questionnaires.”
The University of Edinburgh professor said the study’s “robust” findings gave the first indication yet that those tiny, specific self-descriptions – the ones most of us breeze through without a second thought – could be quietly predicting who lives longer.
“The word ‘active’ was the most striking,” Mõttus said. “Participants who described themselves this way were significantly less likely to die during the study period – with a 21% lower risk, even when age, gender and medical conditions were taken into account.”
The traits of being lively, organised, responsible, hard-working, thorough and helpful followed closely behind. The research covered more than 22,000 adults in four major studies with follow-up periods of six to 28 years.
Páraic O’Súilleabháin, another co-author and an associate professor of psychology at the University of Limerick in Ireland, said: “The significance of this study lies in its precision. 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.”
In other words, it is not just about being conscientious, it’s about being hard-working and thorough. It is not just about being extroverted, it’s about being lively and active.
Mõttus said: “People can be similarly conscientious or extroverted in different ways. It’s these nuanced differences that matter – possibly even for how long we live.”
He said the study found that these specific traits predicted mortality risks better than the five broader traits commonly used to summarise personality: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
“When added together, the nuances carried more predictive power than the broader traits they technically belong to,” Mõttus said.
While positive traits helped people live longer, the study found, their emotional opposites seemed to have the opposite effect: people who rated themselves high on tendencies linked to neuroticism – such as being moody, anxious or easily upset – were more likely to die earlier.
But before anyone rushes off to rewrite their personality, the authors were keen to stress their findings were not deterministic: you’re not doomed to die early because you worry too much, or live for ever because you never miss a deadline.
“What our research does suggest is that personality could play a supporting role – one that’s underestimated in medicine and public health,” O’Súilleabháin said.
The study also found that lifestyle and clinical factors such as smoking, BMI, physical activity and chronic illness accounted for some but not all of the differences between personality and lifespan.
“That means being ‘organised’ might help people stick to routines that improve health, but it may also reflect underlying psychological resilience or social habits that contribute to a longer life,” O’Súilleabháin said.
Dr Ross Stewart, a specialist in personality and psychology at the University of Chester, praised the study’s unprecedented focus on specific personality traits. “Until now, most studies stopped at the broader trait level. But this research shows the ways people describe themselves using individual words may be just as powerful,” he said.
Samuel Henry, a research fellow in psychological assessment at Tartu University in Estonia, said the practical implications are quietly radical. He said if health services could incorporate personality screening into routine assessments, it might help flag people who are at risk because their behaviour patterns suggest difficulties with managing long-term health.
“A person who doesn’t see themselves as ‘organised’ may struggle to keep up with medication,” he said. “Someone who doesn’t feel ‘active’ might need more support to get moving.”