Add Brain Health to the Benefits of Being "Conscientious"

Last summer we wrote about the health and longevity benefits of being a "conscientious" person. Along with emotional stability, conscientiousness is believed to be directly related to physical well-being. And the effect, at least according to one researcher, is not trivial. Brent Roberts of the University of Illinois estimates that being a responsible person is as powerful as cardiovascular disease in determining how long we live.

Conscientious people create life paths for themselves that contribute to better health. That is, they are more successful in their careers, earn more money, have more stable families, and socialize more—all factors known to be linked to health. For example, Roberts tracked college-educated women from age 21 to age 52, and found that women who had been more conscientious in college were less likely to divorce and had more children than women who had been less centered. Other studies have linked conscientiousness to job stability and job satisfaction.

In addition, industrious and reliable people simply do fewer stupid things. They don’t smoke as much, drink as much, drive as fast, have sex with the wrong partners—all those things that we know kill us.

More recently, Robert Wilson of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago have reported findings that conscientiousness is associated with lowered risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. Once again, the effect was not immaterial.

People who were highly conscientious -- those in the 90th percentile with scores of 40 or higher, had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease than those who ranked in the 10th percentile, with a score of 28 or lower.

The researchers also found that conscientiousness was linked with a slower rate of cognitive decline and a lower risk of mild cognitive impairment, a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

How does one become more conscientious or is this just another example of winners and losers in the genetic lottery of life? The definition of conscientiousness used in the Alzheimer's study indicates that it is very much a lifestyle choice and in the control of the individual. They describe conscientiousness "as people who control their impulses and are goal-directed." Another definition reinforces the concept that you-can-be-more-conscientious-if-you-choose:

They are concerned primarily with getting jobs done and getting them done right. They are loyal, hardworking, and achievement oriented. The primary Conscientious traits are hard work, prudence, and conventionality. The Conscientious person loves to work, thrives on challenge, and is bound for success (Oldham and Morris, pg. 62). Highly valued characteristics of this type include attention to detail, self-discipline, emotional control, perseverance, reliability, and politeness (Beck, Freeman, and Davis, pg. 320).

How to get started? How about creating some goals with the first one being to start acting more conscientious? See, you've already started.

If you are serious about becoming happier then this series of posts was written for you.