Having a Purpose Staves off Alzheimer's

Developing Alzheimer's Disease in your later years is an unhappy prospect, and the fact that doctors don't have a strong handle on why makes it all the more unsettling. But it's not all doom and gloom; new research suggests an unlikely defense against the disorder. All you need is a sense of purpose in your life.

A report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry by scientists at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center states that older adults who professed to having more purpose in life were around 2.4 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease than those who didn't have as much direction.

The study, part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project, assessed 900 seniors living in communities, asking how much they agreed with a series of questions like "I feel good when I think of what I have done in the past and what I hope to do in the future," according to a press release.

"Purpose in life, the psychological tendency to derive meaning from life's experiences and to possess a sense of intentionality and goal directedness that guides behavior, has long been hypothesized to protect against adverse health outcomes," writes the study's authors. Now they know it's true. "Even small behavioral modifications ultimately may translate into an increased sense of intentionality, usefulness and relevance."

Now there's a reason to go out and get busy.

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