People with optimistic spouses are less at-risk for dementia because their partners encourage healthy habits and share stronger memories with them, study finds
- Researchers at the University of Michigan and Harvard found people with optimistic spouses have less cognitive decline and memory loss
- They think that happier partners also tend to have better habits
- People are more likely to pick up their partner’s habits – good or bad
- They also found people could recall more detailed memories when they were shared with a partner
People with happy and optimistic partners will live healthier lives and may even be protected against dementia, suggests a new study.
Researchers say people who spend their lives with a partner who has a sunny outlook had lower risks for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and cognitive decline as the grow old together.
They believe that an optimistic partner may help develop a healthier lifestyle by encouraging things like eating a salad or exercising together.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality, followed more than 4,000 heterosexual couples for up to eight years.
People who were married to optimists fared better cognitively as their lives went on, and the researchers from Michigan State University and Harvard University think it may be because their home environments were healthier and less stressful.
Partners of optimists may be protected from dementia because they are more likely to pick up their significant other’s healthy habits and less-stressed attitude
Some say you are what you eat, but others say you are the company you keep.
And that may apply to their habits, too.
‘We spend a lot of time with our partners,’ remarked Dr William Chopik, an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University.
‘They might encourage us to exercise, eat healthier or remind us to take our medicine.
‘When your partner is optimistic and healthy, it can translate to similar outcomes in your own life.
In fact, one 2014 study found that, at least for women, smokers were more likely if their spouse had been a smoker and quit than if they were married to someone who had never smoked.
As an example, if you quit smoking or start exercising, your partner will more likely follow suit within a few weeks or months.
Dr Chopik added: ‘There’s a sense where optimists lead by example, and their partners follow their lead.
‘While there’s some research on people being jealous of their partner’s good qualities or on having bad reactions to someone trying to control you, it is balanced with other research that shows being optimistic is associated with perceiving your relationship in a positive light.’
The research also demonstrated that when couples recall shared experiences together, stronger details from the memories emerge.
Dr Chopik said: ‘We found that when you look at the risk factors for what predicts things like Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, a lot of them are things like living a healthy lifestyle.
‘Maintaining a healthy weight and physical activity are large predictors, there are some physiological markers as well.
‘It looks like people who are married to optimists tend to score better on all of those metrics.’
Over the course of as many as eight years, the researchers found that optimists’ partners maintained better memory and ‘mental status,’ a measure of their overall mental stability and functionality.
Although declines were seen in both optimistic and pessimistic couples – some cognitive decline is all but inevitable with age – those whose partners were ‘low in optimism’ had much steeper declines.
Dr Chopik suggests that optimism is a trainable quality and everyone benefits from a healthy dose of optimism from, their partner.
‘You actually do experience a rosier future by living longer and staving off cognitive illnesses,’ Dr Chopik said.