November 27, 2025, 11:51 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Is it me, or is it the genes? According to a new study, impatience can at least partially be explained genetically. FITBOOK author Friederike Ostermeyer explains what exactly was discovered in the study and what connection exists between this unpopular trait and our health.
Imagine someone wants to give you a 50-euro bill. They wave it right in front of your nose and say, “You can take it now, or you can wait 30 days, and it will become 100 euros.” How would you decide? In everyday terms, it looks like this: There’s a piece of chocolate that would go perfectly with your afternoon coffee. But then it ends up in your mouth seconds later. Is the will perhaps not entirely free? This small act of impatience could have genetic causes. How strongly we prefer an immediate reward over a larger gain that comes later is referred to by science as delay discounting (DD). DD translates to “reward postponement.” A recent U.S. genetic study has now identified genes that impatient people carry, which can promote the development of 212 diseases. The study was published in the journal “Molecular Psychiatry.”1
What the Researchers Investigated
Impulsive behavior and impatience are difficult to suppress. Why is that? How strong is the genetic influence? To find out, researchers from the University of California, San Diego, and the genetic lab “23andMe” first analyzed the DNA of over 135,000 adults. Participants then had to complete a questionnaire with 27 decision-making tasks. The subsequent analysis showed that the “impatient” group had numerous genetic differences compared to the patient group.
Chromosomes 6, 16, and 18 Didn’t Look Good for the Impatient
In addition to eleven “impatience genes,” 93 other genes were found that could also be involved. Researchers found chromosomes 6, 16, and 18 particularly interesting because these genes are also associated with risky behavior, alcohol consumption, diabetes, digestive issues, obesity, ADHD, autism, sleep disorders, and many other health problems. Among them is the gene SULT1A1. In impatient individuals, a gene variant occurs that breaks down the reward neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain more quickly. This can lead to impulsive behavior and the pursuit of quick rewards for the next dopamine hit.
Impatience and Smoking–A Connection?
This includes smoking or nicotine addiction. Nicotine provides the brain with a lightning-fast reward, but unfortunately, it is only short-lived. This could explain why it is often so difficult for affected individuals to quit smoking and why they are more frequently affected by respiratory diseases. Their relapse rates are also particularly high. All of this is important information for developing new, even better tobacco cessation programs.
Opposite Patterns Found in the Patient
It’s different for obsessive-compulsive disorders, anorexia, autism, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorders. People with a genetic predisposition for these diseases are more likely to wait for larger rewards. This fundamental behavioral trait could explain why many mental and physical problems occur together. Whether impatience or patience, both apparently carry health risks on the genetic side.
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Are We All Victims of Our Genes?
Even in this study, the answer is clear: no! In fact, genes influence our behavior by only about ten percent. Thousands of genetic variants work together in very complex ways. No single gene provides enough information to predict whether someone tends toward patience or impatience. Environmental factors such as education, upbringing, social status, traumatic events, or life experiences play a larger role. However, scientists see this as an opportunity to develop even better behavioral and pharmacological treatments.
These Questions Remain Unanswered
Thanks to the large number of participants combined with modern genetic research methods, the study provides valuable new biological insights. It clearly shows connections between genetic predisposition, impatience, and certain diseases. However, the biological mechanism behind it—the answer to how genes precisely influence behavior—remains a mystery. It is also unclear whether people with a higher genetic risk actually benefit more from specific training or therapies. A major weakness of the study is that the majority of participants were of European descent. The results could therefore differ for other populations. Additionally, behavior was measured through questionnaires and not real-life situations.