What personality traits are commonly seen in people in the 'blue zone,' where many people live to be over 100 years old?
The term '
Health Related Quality of Life and Personality Characteristics for Aging Well: Evidence from the Sardinian Blue Zone | International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology | Springer Nature Link
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41042-026-00313-w
People Who Live to 100 Have One Thing in Common – And It's Not Just Diet : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/one-personality-trait-stands-out-among-people-who-live-to-100
It is said that diet, exercise, and social interaction are important for a long and healthy life. Recent research also suggests that having a sense of gratitude and living in a place with abundant nature may also be related to longevity. In fact, areas with blue zones tend to have a lot of nature, and a high percentage of people over 100 years old live in rural areas.
In this study, a research team led by Maria Chiara Fastame, a psychologist at the University of Cagliari in Italy, conducted a survey of people living in the Blue Zone to investigate whether their personality traits are related to their psychological well-being and health-related quality of life.
Previous studies had shown that people living in the Blue Zone scored highly in traits such as resilience , psychological well-being , and optimism , but more detailed research on personality had not been conducted. The research team predicted that more adaptive personality traits would be associated with improved health-related quality of life, leading to increased psychological well-being and more time spent on hobbies.
This study involved 125 elderly individuals aged 71 to 101 living in the Blue Zone and rural areas outside the Blue Zone on the island of Sardinia. Of the participants, 55 lived in the Blue Zone, and the remaining 70 lived outside the Blue Zone.
These regions were chosen because they all share very similar socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and are eligible to access free healthcare services provided by the Italian government. This condition minimized variations due to economic disparities and differences in access to healthcare.
Participants answered tests and questions to assess their mental and physical health, lifestyle including leisure and hobbies, and Big Five personality traits. The Big Five personality traits assess people's personalities across five dimensions:
Analysis of the results revealed that people living in the blue zone did not have a significantly higher quality of life related to health compared to those living outside the blue zone. On the other hand, they had very high scores for 'openness' in the Big Five personality traits.
Openness is a personality trait associated with a high level of intellectual curiosity and a willingness to learn, as well as a willingness to tackle new ideas and challenges. People living in the Blue Zone have been reported to have a high ability to cope with problems and to recognize and respond to the emotions of others, and they also spend more time on mental and physical leisure activities. In addition, people with high conscientiousness tend to report higher life satisfaction and better coping abilities, while those with high neurotic tendencies tend to report lower health-related quality of life.
The research team does not believe that a highly open personality trait directly affects lifespan. Instead, they suggest that people with strong intellectual curiosity may experience healthier aging because they are more likely to seek out new experiences, maintain connections with others, start new hobbies, and continue activities and learning.
It should be noted that this study is a relatively small-scale observational study, and therefore cannot conclude a causal relationship such as 'people with high openness live longer.' The research team stated that further research is needed to clarify the relationship between personality traits and lifespan.
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