Can your personality affect your memory?
A recent meta-analysis published in Alzheimer's disease and dementiaThe Journal of the Alzheimer's Association found a link between certain personality traits and risk of dementia. This data consists of his eight smaller studies, which included a total of 44,531 people between the ages of 49 and 81. Of this group, 1,703 developed dementia. Participants took part in a personality assessment and underwent postmortem brain testing.
Researchers compared dementia diagnoses with: “Big 5” personality traitsThey are agreeableness, openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. They also have either positive affectivity (a person whose personality leans more towards positive traits such as joy, enthusiasm, and confidence) or negative affectivity (a person who tends to have more emotions such as anger, nervousness, or fear). We compared the diagnoses of people with
People with high levels of neuroticism and negative affectivity are “at increased risk of developing dementia in the long term,” the researchers said. Dr. Joel Salinasa clinical assistant professor of neurology at NYU Langone Health and NYU's chief medical officer. Isaac Healthhad no connection to the study.
“And those who had lower levels of conscientiousness, who were extraverted, who had that positive emotion… [were] It also increases risk,” Salinas added.
Conversely, researchers found that people with positive emotional and personality traits, such as extraversion and conscientiousness, had a lower risk of developing the disease. Extroverts have more robust social lives and get energy from being around other people. People with integrity are considered responsible, organized, and goal-oriented.
It is noteworthy that while the researchers found an association between personality traits and risk of a dementia diagnosis, they found no clear association between personality and evidence of underlying disease. Salinas said. So while this study suggests there may be a correlation between the two, researchers still don't know whether personality type is a direct cause of dementia.
“That's not true. [mean] The absence of these associations may mean that the study simply did not find them, or that there was a limited amount of information available in this part of the study, or that more people It just means that either there are other factors that explain why you were at risk of infection. He has dementia,” Salinas said.
according to Dr. Ridhi PatiraThe study measured a clinical diagnosis of dementia, but the type of dementia was not known, said Dr. Petersen, leader of the Frontotemporal Dementia Consortium at the University of Pittsburgh's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, who was not involved in the study. , whether it's Alzheimer's disease or a general memory disorder, for example.
Another limitation is that the second part of the study, which measured changes in participants' brains, relied on data from fewer participants than the first part of the study, Salinas said.
People with personality traits associated with advanced dementia diagnoses may have certain risk factors.
Patila said there may be mediators associated with neuroticism and negative outcomes that put people at risk for dementia. For example, people with neuroticism or anxiety often have more trouble sleeping than people without neuroticism or anxiety.
“And sleep is important for drainage in the brain…and also important for reducing inflammation and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease,” Patira explained. “So future research may suggest something.”
Additionally, compared to people who are happy or positive or extroverted, people with more negative emotions are more likely to be isolated and have higher rates of depression, Patira said. Depression can affect lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise, which are important for lowering the risk of dementia.
Additionally, people with more negative emotions and anxiety may also perform worse on cognitive tests that doctors use to diagnose dementia, Salinas said. This could have led to more diagnoses based on the results. (Think about it: When you have anxiety or negative emotions before any test or assessment, you may not perform as well as when you are calm and happy.)
Catherine McQueen (via Getty Images)
If you are nervous or have negative emotions, there is no need to panic.
As mentioned above, this study did not find a direct causal relationship between personality and evidence of underlying disease. Therefore, there is no need to panic if you are feeling negative or neurotic.
Instead, you can view this research as a learning opportunity. Patila recommends taking extra care of yourself by exercising, getting good sleep, and eating nutritious foods.
That said, she also pointed out that this requires effort and discipline, and it's not easy for everyone (you can't just push yourself to sleep better). If the problem persists, contact your doctor or therapist for additional support.
Overall, certain lifestyle modifications can also help reduce your risk of dementia.
According to Salinas, “There are many things you can do to reduce your risk.” Healthy lifestyle habits “only increase your chances of not developing these symptoms. Or, if you do, you won't.” It may occur later than usual.”
To reduce your risk, Salinas says you should:
- Regular exercise. “Really can't be underestimated [that] People who engage in regular physical activity have a lower risk of all sorts of conditions, and this is one of them. So of all the things we can do, this is what we're going to spend as much time and effort as we can,” Salinas said.
- Eat healthy food. The Mediterranean diet has been around for a long time, Shown to reduce risk of dementia.
- Get enough sleep. “If you have problems with a sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea, seek treatment,” Dr. Salinas emphasized.
- Take care of your heart and blood vessels. It is important to manage conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
- Having a social support system. “Having high-quality social connections that provide support when you need it seems to be protective in some ways,” Salinas says.
- Participate in mentally stimulating activities. “In the act of learning something new, we are more likely to create new brain cell connections,” Salinas says.
- Wear a helmet during activities such as riding a bicycle. head injury Increased risk of dementia.
Salinas said it's a common misconception that genetics are the only influence on dementia risk. In fact, “the vast majority of dementias are not caused purely by genetics,” he says.
By reducing these risk factors and engaging in brain-healthy behaviors as early in life as possible (and knowing that it's never too late to start), It helps keep protective elements in place, he said.
Salinas added that while there's no guarantee that you won't develop dementia if you follow the above advice, you're likely to be in a better position if disease-related changes occur. It's worth a try.
