Elixir

When it comes to your health, being a little more extroverted may go a long way. A new study at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, says that people who are socially active and not easily stressed have a decreased chance of developing dementia. The lifestyle questionnaire, which surveyed 506 older adults, found that risk of dementia was reduced by 50 percent for those who were categorized as composed and relaxed or outgoing and calm, versus those who were isolated or experienced high stress levels. “In the past, studies have shown that chronic distress can affect parts of the brain, such as the hippocampus, possibly leading to dementia,” says study author, Hui-Xin Wang, PhD., “but our findings suggest that having a calm and outgoing personality in combination with a socially active lifestyle may decrease the risk of developing dementia even further.”

This entry was posted 1 year, 1 month ago on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 9:02 am and is filed under Doctor's Orders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.