Vote your conscience, or vote your… amygdala!?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Voting can give people a sense of purpose and strengthen community ties. But what about better health?
Enter Femida Handy and Sara Konrath from University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University.
They examined voting data from more than FOUR THOUSAND seniors. They then compared those records with mortality data collected over the next fifteen years.
After accounting for differences in income and education, one trend stood out.
Older adults who voted had nearly THIRTY percent lower mortality rate than non-voters! The researchers believe voting MAY boost our brains’ reward centers and lower stress!
Want to live longer? Take a walk… to the polling booth!
Handy, F., & Konrath, S. (2026). Voting Behavior and Mortality Risk in Older Adults: Evidence from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbag034