Tengrinews.kz — People living in Sardinia’s Blue Zone — a region with an unusually high share of centenarians — do not differ from their neighbors in terms of physical health or lifestyle, but they significantly outperform them in one personality trait: openness to new experiences. It is this trait, apparently, that helps them remain active into very old age. Italian researchers came to this conclusion, citing Gazeta.Ru.
Psychologist Maria Chiara Fastame of the University of Cagliari and her colleagues examined 125 island residents aged 71 to 101. Of them, 55 lived in the Blue Zone, while 70 lived in neighboring communities with a similar socioeconomic background and equal access to free healthcare.
Participants took tests assessing psychological well-being, health-related quality of life and the five major personality traits under the Big Five model: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. Researchers also assessed coping skills and time spent on hobbies.
Residents of the Blue Zone did not show a significantly higher health-related quality of life. However, they had a reliably higher level of openness — curiosity about the world, readiness for intellectual exploration and new experiences — as well as better coping skills and more time spent on stimulating leisure activities.
According to the authors, openness affects longevity indirectly: a person with a high level of this trait is more willing to make new acquaintances, take up hobbies, continue learning and remain physically active, thereby strengthening the very habits that slow aging.
Another important trait, conscientiousness, was associated with life satisfaction and good coping skills. Neuroticism, or a tendency toward negative emotions, by contrast, correlated with lower quality of life regardless of place of residence.
The study was published in the International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology (IJAPP).