Why Optimists Are Healthier People
The Personality Trait Optimism Has Health Benefits
Optimists are healthier & have lower risks of death than pessimists. The latest research shows you can change your Big Five Personality Traits to get healthier & happier.
Psychologists once believed that your Big Five Personality Traits were set in stone...but research shows that you can change your personality traits. Not only can you potentially be happier, you could also have a healthier heart and immune system. For instance, research shows optimists are healthier people.
Without a doubt, your personality affects your health - but you don't need a personality test or personality profile to make personality changes. To take advantage of the fact that optimists are healthier people, you can learn personality trait of optimism.
Research Shows Optimists are Healthier People
An article in The Archives of General Psychiatry (Nov 2004) states that major depression is a known risk factor in cardiovascular death – this isn’t new news. Optimists have a 55% lower risk of death from all causes ("all-cause death") and a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular death than pessimists. Optimists are simply healthier people. Optimism isn't a Big Five Personality Trait, but it does have a stronger protective effect in men than women for all-cause death, (but not cardiovascular mortality).
Why Optimists Are Healthier People
Optimists are healthier because they may have better coping strategies. Optimists don’t feel the same sense of hopelessness that pessimists do. Optimists are healthier people because they don't feel the pessimism that increases the incidence and progression of disease. The personality profiles of optimists includes more friends and happier outlooks on life. Optimists are healthier because they have a reduced risk of disease.
Optimists are healthier people because their personality profile makes them more prone to making changes in their lifestyles, such as quitting smoking or eating more nutritiously. Optimists tend to have strong survival mechanisms that they adhere to all their lives, which affects their coping strategies.
Optimists Are Healthier People: Why Curious People Are Healthier Than Shy Introverts
Like the difference between optimists and pessimists, shy, introverts and cautious people may have different health forecasts and different coping strategies than outgoing people or extroverts. Penn State researcher Dr. Sonia Cavigelli found that curious rats survive tumors longer than cautious ones. She admits that “it’s difficult to extrapolate from rats to people” but says that shy elderly people (introverts) report more symptoms than outgoing peers.
Optimists Are Healthier People: Changing Your Personality Traits
Extroverts are open and outgoing, which is the opposite introverts' personality traits (extroversion and openness are two of the Big Five Personality Traits). Extroverts often have stronger social ties and more friends – which can set them up for a healthier, happier life. Psychologists once believed that personality traits are set in stone by age 30, but new research shows that not only does it change with age, people can actively make the personality changes they want!
Introverts can become more extroverted; pessimists can become more optimistic. When there's a real motivation to change - such as learning that optimists are healthier people - change becomes possible.
According to personality researchers at the University of California in Berkeley, the Big Five Personality Traits do change over time on their own:
- Conscientiousness (disciplined, organized) increases in the 20’s.
- Agreeableness (warm, generous, helpful) increases in the 30’s.
- Neuroticism (emotional instability, worry-prone) declines in women, but not in men.
- Openness (willing to try new things) declines for both men and women.
- Extraversion (friendliness, outgoingness) declined for women but didn’t change for men.
Like it or not, your personality changes as you get older, and could increase the personality trait optimism. Hopefully, your personality changes will increase your overall health and wellness -- not set you up for an early "retirement"!
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