By JKNewsMedia
POSITIVE LIFESTYLES choices, including optimism, quality sleep, stress management and strong social connections, could help preserve brain health and make the brain appear up to eight years younger, researchers have found.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the study, led by scientists at the University of Florida (UF) in United States of America (USA), examined 128 middle-aged and older adults across four continents over two years, identifying a link between psychological wellbeing, healthy behaviours and slower brain ageing.
Nearly 70 per cent of participants were women, while most lived with chronic pain associated with knee osteoarthritis or faced a risk of developing the condition.
Researchers used advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans and machine learning techniques to estimate participants’ brain ages before comparing the results with their actual ages.
The findings showed that participants who reported the strongest combination of positive psychological and lifestyle factors had brains that appeared up to eight years younger than their chronological ages.
However, chronic pain, lower income, limited educational attainment and social disadvantage were associated with brains that appeared older.
Researchers also observed that although the effects of hardship on brain ageing weakened over time, the benefits associated with positive lifestyle factors proved stronger and more sustained.
Other behaviours associated with healthier brain ageing included avoiding smoking and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Kimberly Sibille, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Florida who led the research, said the findings reinforced the importance of adopting health-promoting behaviours.
“The message is consistent across our studies,” she said.
“Health-promoting behaviours are not only associated with lower pain and better physical functioning. They appear to actually bolster health in an additive fashion at a meaningful level,” according to the findings published in the journal Brain Communications.
The research adds to evidence linking mental wellbeing and lifestyle choices with brain health, including among people living with chronic pain and long-term health conditions.
Separately, research examining the relationship between personality and longevity has found that certain psychological traits may also influence the risk of premature death.
Another large analysis led by researchers at the University of Limerick (UL) examined data from more than 500,000 people, covering nearly six million person-years. During the study period, 43,851 participants died.
The researchers assessed five major personality traits: neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness, examining how each related to mortality risk.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that their analysis found that people with higher levels of neuroticism, characterised by anxiety and emotional instability, had a three per cent higher risk of dying earlier.
By contrast, higher conscientiousness, associated with organisation, discipline and dependability, was linked to a 10 per cent lower risk of death.
Extraversion, which reflects sociability and engagement with others, was associated with a three per cent reduction in mortality risk. Researchers found this relationship was particularly strong in the United States and Australia.
However, the analysis established no clear relationship between mortality and either openness or agreeableness.
Dr Máire McGeehan, an assistant UL professor, who led the research, said personality could influence several aspects of human wellbeing and longevity.
“Our work shows that how we think, feel and behave is not only linked to life satisfaction and social relationships, but also to how long we live,” she said.
The research also involved collaboration with Florida State University (FSU), West Virginia University (WVU) and Northwestern University and was recently published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JP-SP).
Dr Páraic S Ó Súilleabháin, a senior author of the study, described personality as an important factor in health and longevity.
“Personality is a critical driver of health and longevity, with effects similar in size to commonly recognised public health factors such as socio-economic status,” he said.
He added that the findings could help shape future research into how psychological traits influence health throughout people’s lives.
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