Study shows impatience speeds up ageing

They say patience is a virtue, but scientists have discovered it could also help you live longer.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have found that the cells of impatient young women age faster than peers with less sense of urgency. It's the first study to link to way we make decisions to ageing.


The scientists investigated the possible health consequences of patience (or lack of it) in 1158 female students at the university. To do this, the team made the participants play an economic game where they could choose either an immediate cash reward or wait and receive more money in the future. It's a game based on a well-known activity called the Marshmallow Test where children are told they can have one marshmallow now or two later.


Then, to look at the health implications of the personality trait, the women had blood tests. This was so the researchers could measure the length of the participant's telomeres – the protective caps on the end of chromosomes which prevent damage to DNA. Telomeres decrease in length each time a cell ages, so they can be used as a marker of how fast a person is ageing.


Individuals who were impatient and had chosen the instant cash reward in the game had shorter telomere lengths, suggesting they were more susceptible to ageing. But the researchers found no correlation between impatience and cellular ageing in young men.

The link requires more research, so next the NUS team will look at whether older ageing people have longer telomeres and are more patient. The scientists also want to find out whether mindfulness meditation can improve patience.


Professor Richard Ebstein, from the Department of Psychology who led the study with Professor Chew Soo Hong from the Department of Economics says:

"Patience is indeed a virtue and women with impatient personality types are likely growing older at a faster pace than women disposed to be more patient."

So if you've ever been described as having 'the patience of a saint', there might be another reason to feel smug about it.