Want to Live to 100? Introduce Yourself

If you want to live to be 100, be the person at the party who walks up to total strangers and says hello.

Yep, research shows that having an outgoing personality may be one of the hallmark traits of people who live to a ripe old age.

What Runs in the Family
Researchers recently examined the personalities of grown offspring of centenarians, with the assumption that the offspring have a good shot of living to 100, too. And what did the researchers find? Personality may play a role in longevity. The offspring were not only more outgoing but also had a knack for forming close friendships and for dealing with stress effectively. Makes sense when you consider other research has shown that these particular personality traits are associated with greater happiness, vitality, and longevity in older populations. And here's a good reason to choose happy friends.

Are Genes Everything?
Don't come from a long line of centenarians? What you don't inherit, you can adopt (with the exception of genes) -- meaning you can embrace healthy lifestyle choices and develop healthy personality traits. Here are some strategies to help get you started:

• Fall in love. With your life, that is. Try these five simple life-loving steps.
• Nurture the circle. Increase the quality and length of your life with strong social ties. Here are some easy ways to assess your social life and also improve it.
• Mind your mood. Are you depressed? Anxious? Sleep deprived? Check out this host of tools for enhancing your emotional well-being.

Stressed? Here are three quick ways to chill out.

Personality traits of centenarians' offspring. Givens, J. L. et al., Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2009 Apr;57(4):683-685.