desire to live forever ? Science has n’t quite cracked that one yet , but a mathematical group of Harvard researcher has figured out how to give you the best potential shot .
For 75 year ( and counting ) , researchers have been following the same 600 + people to determine what make a longsighted , respectable , and happy living . These subject field , title theGrant and Glueck Studies , are two of the longest longitudinal written report on health and happiness ever conducted , containing tens of thousands of page of participant questionnaire , wellness phonograph recording , mental capacity scans , roue samples , journals , interview with friends and family , and , of course , scrotum mensuration .
With study participants now in their 80s and 90s , and many having passed away , the Harvard researchers have identify seven key factors to subsist as long as you maybe can ( while not being a miserable prick the whole time ) . Sure , " seven secrets to a foresighted life " might vocalise like a garbage " wellness " blog post . But unlike most " secret , " these have 75 years of Harvard research to back them up , so you might want to pay care .
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Keep learning
You might find like studying for that econ examination is dedicate you a heart plan of attack . It ’s in reality having the polar effect . On modal , the deathrate rates of the inner - metropolis participant ( Glueck ) at ages 68 to 70 resemble the Harvard participants ( Grant ) at 78 to 80 . The elision ? Glueck participants who graduate from college ( only about 6 % ) were just as healthy as the Grant participants , even in old years . Meaning within these studies , a deficiency of pedagogy could abbreviate someone ’s life by as much as 10 years .
Multiplestudieshave sustain theprotective health benefits of education . And if you ’re way beyond your college years , continued intellectual input atanyage canpreventyour psyche and body from deteriorate . So yes , Pink Floyd , when it comes to aging well , you ’re utterly veracious : wedon’tneednoeducation ( think about it ) .
Don’t smoke
This might not intend much if it were n’t for the fact that during the 1950s , Philip Morris ( aka America ’s No . 1 baccy company ) was amajor funderfor the Grant Study . During those years , the participant questionnaire curb head like , " If you never fume , why did n’t you ? " So , you know : just a teensy-weensy snatch leading / condescending for non - smokers . Yet despite this sly subliminal selling and financial support power , the discipline ’s leads could n’t ignore the consequences and fatalities of smoke . Needless to say , Philip Morris has n’t been a study supporter for a while now …
Don’t abuse alcohol
In late geezerhood , study researchers discovered that inebriation was involved in 57 % of all participant divorces . You might assume that tough relationship direct to drinking , but at least in this not - so - tiny study , very few tough wedlock actually led to alcoholism . rather , participant develop an alcohol problem , which then sabotaged their relationships . The Grant Study ’s lead police detective , Dr. George Vaillant , even concluded that , " inebriant is a cause , rather than a termination , of life ’s problem . " Just a few of these problem being depression and psychoneurosis , which tend tofollowalcohol abuse , rather than precede it .
And as if depression were n’t depressing enough , for participants diagnosed with depression at age 50 , a whopping 70 % were either drained or terminally sick by age 63 . So if you like the melodic theme of being that97 - year - old badass dance in the streets , maybe do n’t complete that six - pack in one pose ( says the study ! It ’s not me ! Promise ! ) .
Get some exercise and maintain a healthy weight
We ’ll immix these two factors for ( hopefully ) obvious understanding . Now prepare for your brain to spite . In his ledger about the Grant Study , titledTriumphs of Experience , Dr. Vaillant challenges one of our most usually held conceptions : physical exertion causes good health . He asks instead , " might it not be the other way around ? " Among the study samples , exercise at age 60 correlate more highly with health at eld 55 than with wellness at 80 ( we ’ll give you a arcminute to reread that a few sentence ) . what is more , health at the age of 50 and 60 significantly predicted exercise ( not health ) at eld 80 .
In other password , wellness predicted exercise at every age , but exercise did n’t forecast health in old long time . Dr. Vaillant resolve that healthy hoi polloi practise , but not needs that exercise makes multitude healthy . Which may seem crazy , but envisage being a 60 - year - old with pain in every joint … would you need to go for a jog , or even a walk ?
The same goes for cholesterol . While maintaining healthy cholesterol levels early in lifespan may touch on vital signs at age 50 , the study found that cholesterin at geezerhood 50 has absolutelyno impacton health and felicity at years 80 .
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So why did he resolve that physical exercise and healthy weight are two of the major factors for foresightful life and happiness ? Well , that ’s the beauty of longitudinal study . While the researcher may not know exactlywhy"some " exercise and exert a healthy weightiness help masses know longer , the research shows that they do ! So just make it pass .
Adapt to shitty life circumstances
Life is going to suck ( a lot ) , and your reception to said suckiness is what make or breaks you . Now that cogitation participant are well into their LXXX and 90s , investigator have classified reception to pain – " defense reaction mechanisms " – into four class that stretch across a lifetime : psychotic , immature , neurotic , and matured . Theultimate goalis to evolve from psychotic ( ego - absorbed , business leader - hungry ) to maturate ( selfless , healthy emotional outlets ) without too many hiccup along the way .
The studies see that matured adjustment was by far themost powerful predictorof " successful " aging across a lifetime . bear the defense mechanisms of a 9 - year - older at age 60 does n’t bode too well , unless you ’re run for president , maybe . Poor coping skills generally lead to alcoholism , smoking , depression , unhealthful habits , and all the other common suspect seek to stamp out you . Life gives everyone lemons , but it ’s the masses that crush the perdition out of those lemons that stop up happy and tidy into their eighty , XC , and beyond .
When it comes down to it, it’s all about relationships
Dr. Vaillant headed the Grant Study for more than 42 years , and still consults on itto this day . The man is an intellectual titan with a lifetime dedicated to research , information , and tight academic standards . So when ask what he learn from over 40 yr leading the Grant Study , his solution was a little unexpected : " The only thing that really matter in life are your relationships to other masses . " Sometime subsequently , when ask again for a key takeout from the bailiwick , Vaillant summed it up in five simple words : " felicity is lovemaking . Full stop . "
And if that ’s not quite Beatles - circa-1967 enough for you , the current study conductor , Dr. Robert Waldinger , has taken it a whole step further . In a recentTED talking , Dr. Waldinger conclude , " dear relationships keep us happier and healthier . Period . " So after over 75 years and $ 25 million expend on these studies , the lesson of the chronicle is something you ’d regain on the bumper dagger of a VW Beetle ? Yuuuup .
Not only did participants of both studies who cover make close relationships tend to be happier and healthier , but they also lived longer . prescribed relationship were find to have a protective welfare , both physically and mentally , while tough relationship led to earlier physical and genial decline . prescribed relationship can actually fend off perceived physical bother . Nightmarish relationships have a elbow room of hyperbolize the pain in the ass . So do n’t start up swipe right just for the hell of it . The studies found that being unmarried is much better for you than being in a high-risk relationship ( so put the phone down ! ) .
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If you live in America , there ’s a good luck that you ’ve mat the pressure level to lean in to your career , to be ambitious , to strive for more . These studies say we ’re leaning in the untimely direction . After studying 75 years of records on over 600 people , Dr. Waldinger has concluded , " those the great unwashed who fare the good were the multitude who lean in to relationship , with category , with friend , with community . " Full stopover . full stop . ecphonesis point .
Together , these seven factors are your best shot at sticking around for a while , and being happy about it . And if you ’re think you could just get by on beingphenomenalat just one or two of these factors , then Grant and Glueck have some bad word for you . participant who had only three factors at age 50 were three times as potential to be bushed at 80 as those with four or more . So you may be the soberest gym bunny on the planet , but if you have n’t open up a rule book or call your sister in a while , all your effort might be in vain . It ’s just science . Now go give someone a clinch .
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