If you’re the kind of person who is a quick study, you may have a natural advantage that could add to your life span.
That’s the upshot of new research published in Psychological Science, the journal of the Association for Psychological Science, that finds quick thinking and feeling healthy predict longer life.
For the study, researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Geneva, Switzerland tracked 29 years’ worth of medical records for more than 6,000 adults, checking for certain psychological factors as strong predictors of longevity.
Using two types of statistical analysis, the researchers were able to assess the relative importance of 65 different variables in predicting participants' mortality risk. The results revealed individuals who perceived themselves as healthy and were able to process information — think on their feet — were far more likely to live longer than those who didn’t have those attributes.
The influence of the two psychological factors relative to known medical risk factors, such as cardiovascular symptoms, came as a surprise to the researchers.
"Our study shows that two psychological variables, lower self-rated health and age-related decrements in processing speed, appear to be especially important indicators of elevated mortality risk in middle-age and older adults," said psychological scientist Stephen Aichele of the University of Geneva in Switzerland. "This information may facilitate diagnostic accuracy and timely interventions."
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