# Does MBTI have an effect on lifespan?



## dissipatingdawn (Sep 29, 2015)

Has anyone come across studies regarding this? I was thinking that types that tend to have higher anxiety levels, risking-taking tendencies, etc, might have a shorter lifespan than other types. Of course, there are tons of other factors that play into this, and I was wondering if you guys had some ideas.


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## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

According to this Slate article, one of the findings of "one of the longest-lasting longitudinal research projects ever undertaken" was that people who are _conscientious_ in the Big Five sense — i.e., MBTI J's — live longer than P's.

One of the most striking findings of _The Longevity Project_ is that conscientiousness is a predictor of long life. People who blow their deadlines and forget their appointments tend to find themselves making an early appointment with the grim reaper. Sorting through eight decades of data shows that the reliable, more-mature-than-their years little boys and girls identified in the 1920s became the dependable adults who were most likely to have made it into a new century. "[T]he best childhood personality predictor of longevity was conscientiousness—the qualities of a prudent, persistent, well-organized person …—somewhat obsessive and not at all carefree." 

The benefits of a conscientious personality are obvious: These people are less likely to smoke and drink, or drive dangerously. Throughout life, conscientious people are less impulsive, and less depressed. The researchers found that the prudent died less from all causes, not just those related to dangerous habits. It appears the conscientious have higher levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin (a brain chemical boosted by antidepressants), which is linked to, the authors write, "many health-relevant processes throughout the body, including how much you eat and how well you sleep."​
It may also be worth noting that, when I posted this article at INTJforum, it attracted the following replies from a couple of those you-know-whats:



> You may outlive me or you may not but one thing is for sure, you live a painfully boring life at your best.





> I'd much rather have a short fun life than a long, boring, obsessive one .



The OP mentioned anxiety levels, and speculated that higher anxiety might be associated with a shorter lifespan, but it looks like, at least up to a point, the reverse may be true. The dimension of personality that's most associated with anxiety level is Neuroticism, which is the one Big Five dimension that doesn't have a corresponding MBTI dimension, and here's a Nov. 2012 _Atlantic_ article about what's referred to as a "healthily vigilant mindset":

Being a healthy degree of neurotic lowers risk of chronic disease

It discusses a study that found that being _both_ the Big Five version of a J _and_ being above-average in neuroticism (more anxiety-prone than average) combined to lower the risk of chronic disease.


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