One of the questions we’ve all asked is: what makes a happy life? Some argue that it’s the money, others that it’s a rewarding career, others point to the role of family and children — and scientists have been trying to discover the answer for more than eight decades.
According to , there is a body of science we can turn to to help us uncover some of the answers, and it centers on the largest-ever study on happiness.
O , conducted by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, is now in its 86th yearbut started as two separate projects.
In 1938, the Grant Studyfinanced by William T. Grant Foundation and directed by George E. Vaillantrecruited 268 men degree courses at Harvard University.
At the same time, another study was being carried out — the Glueck Study — with a group made up of 456 men of Boston’s inner-city neighborhoods.
Both studies had similar goals: Follow your recruits through life and observe the impact of various factors on their health and happiness as they age.
Few of the original participants are alive today, but some have had illustrious careers, including the legendary journalist Ben Bradlee and a no less legendary US president, John F. Kennedy.
Later, researchers began analyzing the children of the original group — the Second Generation Study — under the direction of the psychiatrist Robert Waldinger.
Together with the associate director, Marc SchultzWaldinger published a book entitled Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study on Happinesswhich summarizes the conclusions of this decades-long project.
Dozens of scientific articles have been published over the years, studying participants as they reached different life milestones and analyzing factors that go into from military service to spiritual experiences.
So what does the longest-ever study of human happiness tell us? taught so far?
“A surprising discovery is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships have a powerful influence on our health,” said Waldinger in 2017.
“Taking care of our bodies is important, but taking care of our relationships is also a form of self-care. This, I think, It’s the big reveal” of this study, considered the researcher.
A wealth of research in recent years — particularly during the socially distanced days of COVID-19 shutdowns — has pointed to Potential health risks associated with loneliness.
Some studies suggest that isolation can be as harmful to health as smoking or obesity. Loneliness in older people has been linked to heart disease, while social connections have been linked to better brain health.
This specific lesson from the Harvard study could not have come at a better time. Many have warned of “loneliness epidemic” that supposedly plagues our modern world, with the World Health Organization to argue that the issue must be “recognized and resourced as a global public health priority”.
This is not to say that the answer to happiness is to surround yourself with as many people as possible at all times. As Waldinger explained in an interview with Derek Mullerscience communicator and YouTuber, not everyone needs a large number of social connections.
“Introverts are perfectly healthy“, said Waldinger. “They just need one or two really solid relationships and they don’t want a lot more people. There’s nothing wrong with that“. This is less about quantity and more about quality.
A recent one suggests that although American adults currently have a similar number of friends as their counterparts from previous decades, the quality of their social connections may not be the same and these relationships may not be as fulfilling.
In our hyperconnected world, many have suggested that spending more time online and less time in the world can be an obstacle to creating strong connections with others.
This is unlikely to happen to everyone; For example, for people who can’t leave the house, online friendships can be a vital lifeline, but it can be part of a complex picture.
As for why good relationships are so valuable, Waldinger suggested that the prevailing theory centers on our capacity for emotional regulation through social interaction.
The importance of relationships is just one of the lessons from the studybut it may be the most unexpected.
Other predictors of long-term well-being are things we are all too familiar with: not smoking, drinking excessively, or taking drugs, exercising regularly, and having regular medical checkups help promote physical health, which has a important knock-on effect on .
O Harvard study is still taking placebut there is an inevitable conclusion: “the people who did best were those who leaned into relationships.”
Teresa Oliveira Campos, ZAP //
