Personality can also age the brain.

According to new research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, an extroverted personality is likely to prolong the duration of cognitive decline. In contrast, people who often experience excessive stress or have high levels of neurosis have an increased likelihood of cognitive decline.

Lead author of the study, psychologist Dr Tomiko Yoneda said: “Personal traits, which reflect relatively long-lasting patterns of thinking and behavior, can positively influence participation in behaviors. healthy or unhealthy throughout life”.

According to her: “The accumulation of life-long experiences may contribute to a greater susceptibility to specific diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive impairment, or to individual differences in tolerance. contain age-related neurological changes.

Main personality traits

The study analyzed the personalities of nearly 2,000 people participating in the Rushed Aging and Memory Project. The study looked at the role of three key personality traits – conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism – in how people overcome cognitive decline in later life.

The results of the study showed that people tend to be highly self-disciplined, organized and goal-oriented, enthusiastic about life, assertive and extroverted. They were generally less at risk of cognitive decline during the study.

“For every six additional points a person scored on the conscientiousness scale, there was a 22 percent reduction in the risk of transitioning from normal cognitive functioning to mild cognitive impairment,” says Yoneda.

That is, an 80-year-old with a high level of conscientiousness lived two more years without cognitive problems compared to those with a low score on conscientiousness. Conversely, as the degree of neurological impairment increases, so does the risk of transition to cognitive decline. For every seven more points on the conscientiousness scale, you’ll likely experience cognitive decline a year earlier.

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