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As much as we focus on food and fitness as the “physical” arbiters of health and longevity, there appears to be much more to it. In fact, most research fails to find any grand commonalities in the diet and fitness patterns of the longest lived. From Okinawans with their sweet potatoes [1] to Japanese centenarians with their dairy [2] to the Ashkenazi with their higher rates of smoking, drinking, and lower rates of formal exercise [3] to the 107 year old with her butter, no exercise, and mistrust of medicine [4] to the supercentenarians with their liver, bacon, wine, chocolate, and eggs to the other supercentenarians with their caloric restriction [5]. Sure, they’re generally not eating Twinkies and Panda Express, but the secret to longevity – at least as it’s practiced by living centenarians – does not lie in one specific diet.

So what is it? One main determinant appears to be whether you have certain alleles [6]. You can’t change that (not yet anyway), but there are some things you can control. What you can affect – and what appears to have a big effect on, or at least a strong association with longevity [7] – are personality traits and characteristics. How you see the world. How you engage life. How you interact with others. Now, to be sure, many personality traits are somewhat out of your conscious control, whether genetically determined [8] or set in motion by events long-past, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to cultivate or emulate them [9].

What are some of these characteristics?

Socially Connected



Second, social isolation and loneliness are often associated [11] with negative health patterns, like obesity, inactivity, and smoking. Plus, the socially isolated and lonely are more likely to have hypertension, elevated inflammatory markers, and increased blood clotting. In one study [12], people who had close friends in the same room with them had less of a blood pressure and heart rate increase in response to stress. Another study [13] found that in people exposed to a cold virus, those with more social connections were less likely to actually get sick than those with fewer social connections.





This connection is well-researched. Conscientious people tend to be healthier and take better care of themselves [17]. Childhood conscientiousness is linked [18] to better health later on in life. Most of the connection between conscientiousness and longevity can be explained by obvious factors, like the fact that thoughtful people are more likely to care about their diet and other health-related behaviors and therefore make better health-related decisions, but not all of it [19]. Conscientiousness, for example, also seems to go hand-in-hand with cognitive function and it may even be protective against Alzheimer’s and other diseases of cognitive degeneration [20]. Those who are conscientious may also deal with stress better [21] than those who are not, probably by virtue of being better prepared for it.

There’s got to be a balance, though, I’d imagine. What if conscientiousness veers into obsession? What if dedication to self-discipline devolves into self-flagellation [22]? What if hard work becomes workaholicism and breaks up your marriage?


Don’t Worry Too Much




Seemingly contrary to the other findings about optimistic kids dying earlier, some research suggests that optimism is a good predictor of longevity [28]. Optimists are more resistant to stress [29], generally lead longer and healthier lives than pessimists, and, well, optimism seems to be encoded into our genome [30]. According to neuroscientist Tali Sharot, “optimism was selected by evolution precisely because, on balance, positive expectations enhance the odds of survival.”

I wrote about this last year [29]. Optimists, quite simply, are fighters. They’re fighters because they can see a point to it all, a light glimmering at the end of the tunnel, and so they continue on. They don’t give up, because why would you if things are going to work out? To an optimist, things only fail because you gave up on them. If you’re faced with a cancer diagnosis – say, lung cancer [31] – and you’re an optimist, you’re more likely to survive longer.


Easy to Laugh

There’s considerable research that ease of laughter is a strong predictor of longevity [33]. He who laughs most, laughs last, in other words. Laughter [34] isn’t just enjoyable. It’s also really good for you. It reduces stress and improves natural killer cell [35] (a part of your immune system responsible for fighting cancer and other diseases) activity. It lowers cortisol [36]. While growth hormone is best known for its fat-burning effects, it can also have a negative impact in rheumatoid arthritis; laughter reduces the RA-associated growth hormone increase [37]. Overall, laughter simply has “positive, quantifiable effects on certain aspects of health [38].”







Extraversion is a significant predictor of longevity [42], happiness [43], resistance to stress [44], and even mood regulation in the face of unpleasant situations [45]. I tend to suspect that introverts might not live as long not because of something inherent to introverts, but because modern society is geared toward and favors extraversion. An introvert probably experiences more stress [46] in response to social fundamentals, like job interviews, small talk, presentations, and anything else where extraversion helps. You can be introverted and completely comfortable with that fact [47] and be totally fine, or at least minimize the downsides. But if you’re an introvert who’s unhappy, who’s envious of extroverts, you may suffer.


