New research shows that older adults may be better supported as they age when their personalities are considered, for example, are they more like orchids or dandelions?

Researchers examined the potential effects of lifestyle activities on the cognitive health of more than 3,500 adults aged 60+. They found that personality using psychology's orchid-dandelion metaphor can be a factor in how well supportive programs work.

Researchers from Simon Fraser University's Circle Innovation examined the potential effects of lifestyle activities on the cognitive health of more than 3,500 adults aged 60+. They found that personality-using psychology's orchid-dandelion metaphor can be a factor in how well supportive programs work.

Their results, published this month in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, make a case for policymakers to consider designing programs tailored to personality types rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

"These discoveries offer new possibilities to support ageing adults and provide substantial evidence for new social prescribing programs," says Circle Innovation CEO and scientific director Sylvain Moreno. "Understanding how personality differences affect an ageing population can help decision-makers provide older adults with solutions that fit their individual needs."

People who may be considered 'orchid adults' thrive best under ideal circumstances, since they are more sensitive and biologically reactive, while 'dandelion adults' are thought to be resilient and can easily adapt to any environment.

That means orchid individuals could require more nurturing solutions, researchers say. "These older adults are more fragile, like the delicate flower they represent, and hence prone to overreact to ongoing health and housing problems, disturbing news about the economy or global pandemics," says SFU PhD student and study researcher Emma Rodrigues.

"On the other hand, dandelion retirees are relatively less environment-sensitive and also more resilient to deterioration in poor environmental conditions."

"The lesson here is that we should stop pigeonholing ageing adults into one group of our population. These results demonstrate how ageing trajectories can differ depending on whether the environment influences a person."

According to researchers, understanding how modifiable lifestyle factors may maintain or promote cognitive health can lead to a healthier ageing population.