Your personality may influence how long you live, according to major new research that suggests certain traits can significantly raise—or lower—the risk of dying early.
The large study from the University of Limerick in Ireland found that certain personality traits—such as being anxious, highly organized, or outgoing—can strongly influence how long people live.
In fact, these traits were just as important for predicting the risk of death as major factors like income, education and other measures of social status, say the team.
The researchers looked at decades of information from almost 570,000 people on four continents. Altogether, the data tracked nearly six million years of people’s lives and included more than 43,000 deaths—making this one of the biggest and most detailed studies yet on how personality might relate to lifespan.
Anxiety Tied to Higher Death Risk
Among the clearest findings was the role of neuroticism, a trait characterized by anxiety, worry and emotional instability.
Adults with higher levels of neuroticism were significantly more likely to die earlier than those with lower levels.
Researchers found that each one-point increase in neuroticism was associated with a three percent higher risk of death at any given time.
The link was especially strong in younger adults, suggesting that long-term stress and difficulty managing emotions can gradually wear down the body and harm health over time.
Being Organized and Outgoing May Help You Live Longer
In contrast, people who scored higher on conscientiousness—a tendency to be organized, disciplined and goal-oriented—had a substantially lower risk of death.
Each one-point increase in conscientiousness was linked to a 10 percent reduction in mortality risk, the strongest protective effect observed in the study.
Extraversion, marked by sociability and engagement with others, was also associated with longer life.
Higher extraversion scores were linked to a three percent lower risk of death, particularly in countries such as the United States and Australia.
Not All Traits Matter Equally
The study found little to no consistent association between mortality risk and the traits of openness (curiosity and creativity) or agreeableness (cooperativeness and trust), meaning that not all traits appeared to have a baring on health and mortality.
Meanwhile, the study’s lead author Máire McGeehan, an assistant professor in psychology at the University of Limerick told Newsweek that the personality linked to higher mortality is not set in stone.
“The study looks at how those higher in neuroticism in a general population may be at higher risk of death than someone lower in neuroticism. However, it is important to say that the risk of death is relative, not absolute,” McGeehan said.
Personality as a Public Health Factor
Paper author and psychologist Páraic S Ó’Súilleabháin, also of Limerick, said that the findings could reshape how researchers and policymakers think about health risks.
“Personality is a critical driver of health and longevity. It is important to emphasize that these effects are similar in size to those of commonly considered public health determinants, such as socioeconomic status,” he said.
Ó’Súilleabháin described the work as “groundbreaking,” and said that it would drive future research into how psychological traits influence biological processes and health behaviors over time.
“The information can be useful in creating awareness around choices of health behaviors and coping mechanisms, which may be contributing factors to health outcomes and a longer or shorter life,” McGeehan added.
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References
McGeehan, M., Sutin, A. R., Gallagher, S., Terracciano, A., Turiano, N. A., Ahern, E., Kirwan, E. M., Luchetti, M., Graham, E. K., & O’Súilleabháin, P. S. (2025). Personality and mortality risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal data. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000577