Being Conscientious For Better Health

“People who do what they say they are going to do tend to be healthier than people who don’t follow through.  Develop a long-standing habit of reliability, and benefits for your health and your life will follow,” advises author David Niven.

Niven cites psychology professor Alan Christensen of the University of Iowa as having said that our attitudes and approaches to life matter to our health.

Professor Christensen explains: You will be better off if you’re conscientious.  Conscientiousness refers to diligence, a strong sense of personal control, and a willingness to take on personal challenges. In short, it is a commitment to follow the course you set yourself on without reluctance.

Christensen (further quotes Niven) says that it may be as important to think about how patients approach the world and themselves as it is to consider their physical state.  There is reason to believe individuals can alter their degree of consciousness. Moreover, doctors should be able to use information about how their patients‘ personalities may be putting them at risk to judge how closely they need to be monitored and how aggressively to treat them.

In Niven’s study of those suffering from a chronic illness, University of Iowa researchers found that those who tended to be highly conscientious, goal-directed, and dependable were 36 percent less likely to die prematurely.

An interest in health is a very useful thing. An obsession with health is, however, a dangerous thing. Having a few health concerns at any given moment is normal. The best approach to health is to minimize health problems, not eliminate them.

Emory University researchers found that less than 19 percent of Americans could be classified as completely healthy (with high levels of physical and mental health and low levels of illness) at any given moment, cites Niven.

So what’s health all about? It’s all about life. Niven puts it this way:

“We see stories on the news about the latest pill, the latest treatment, the latest and most expensive remedy for whatever ails us. The health story we don’t hear is that the route to a healthy life is not found in doctors’ offices or hospitals.  It is found in our home and in our daily life. Enjoying your life and the people around you will contribute to your health and reduce the effects of aging.”