Good Health and an Outgoing Personality Go Hand in Hand
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iStock/Thinkstock(ST. LOUIS) — Certain personality traits, which can help people throughout their lives, are also beneficial to one’s physical health.
According to Washington University researchers, it’s easier to protect yourself from contracting a serious illness if you’re an organized, conscientious extrovert who is somewhat easygoing.
Josh Jackson, Sara Weston and Patricia Hill analyzed data on 7,000 people with an average age of 68 and who had been to a doctor or clinic within the past two years. They asked the participants to check off personality traits that described them best.
Based on their answers, the researchers scored each of them on extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. Meanwhile, the participants were also told to name any conditions they had been diagnosed with from a list of serious illnesses.
In essence, those who were outgoing, organized, conscientious and easygoing were healthier and better able to communicate with their doctor. However, participants ranked as neurotic where at greater risk of contracting diseases.
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