Optimism, Laughter May Bring Long Life
Jun-02-2012

If you want to live a long life, accent the positive and keep laughing, say researchers who have found that centenarians are often extroverts who embrace the world from an optimistic and carefree perspective.
The findings stem from the Longevity Genes Project, launched by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. All the participants in the latest study were over the age of 95, and all were of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent.
"We really were not sure what got them to their advanced age," admitted study co-author Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of Einstein's Institute for Aging Research and chair of its division of Aging Research. "Was it their personality, or something more in their genetics?"
"Our findings that these centenarians share such positive personality traits suggest that they may be associated with longevity," he added.
Barzilai noted, however, that "the main message of the study is that [although] these centenarians have a 'nice' personality now, that was not always the case," opening the door to the notion that it's never too late to adopt a "can-do" spirit.

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