Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have identified a link between a person’s ability to stay aware of the present moment and genetics. The findings appear in the scientific journal Scientific Reports (SciRep).
The idea is that people who maintain higher levels of awareness tend to live more in the moment, report greater happiness, and feel more content with life.
The study analyzed data from the Early Twin Development Study, which tracked information from more than 10,000 twin pairs born between 1994 and 1996.
The analysis sample consisted of 1136 pairs of twins, including both monozygotic twins who share all their genetic material and dizygotic twins who share about half.
Awareness was measured using the Mindful Attention Scale (MAAS), a tool that emphasizes noticing current events and experiences as they occur.
Consistent with earlier research, the team found a modest but statistically significant positive relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being.
Both mindfulness and subjective well-being showed substantial genetic influence. The analysis revealed higher correlations for mindfulness, happiness, and life satisfaction among monozygotic twins compared with dizygotic twins, indicating a genetic contribution. Specifically, genetic factors account for about 34% of the variance in mindfulness, around 42% in happiness, and roughly 57% in life satisfaction.
Additional observations suggest that tendencies toward procrastination may undermine awareness, potentially affecting the ability to stay present.
Overall, the research highlights that while environment and experience shape awareness and happiness, genetics play a meaningful role in these psychological traits and their interplay with daily well-being. This has implications for how individuals might approach practices that foster mindfulness and presence, as well as for understanding the biological underpinnings of well-being across populations.
Attribution: The study and its conclusions are reported in Scientific Reports, with researchers noting the heritable components of mindfulness, happiness, and life satisfaction in twin samples.