Wall Street Journal’s (WSJ) January article on “The Real Secret to Lifelong Fulfillment” explains the following historic findings. Begun in 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has tracked its original group number of 724 men and more than 1300 male and female descendants over three generations. During that period of time, thousands of questions and hundreds of measurements have been asked to find out, as individuals age “What really keeps people healthy and happy?”
Two totally unrelated economic groups of young men were initially studied as to a future response to this question. Amazingly, over the past 85 years, the study has maintained na 84% participation level. Now in their 80s, these individuals and their descendants have been studied, even in their midlife years, to see what their possible happiness status would be as they approached their octogenarian age.
Two other known long-track studies were also begun in Chicago and Baltimore that showed similar results about the powerful role played by relationships. The findings of all of these studies, tied to physical health, mental health, and longevity, promoted the following conclusions. Career achievement, exercise, or healthy diet (example: producing low cholesterol levels) mattered, but not as much as good social relationships to keep us healthy and happy. The study revealed that “The people, who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50, were the healthiest mentally and physically at age 80.” It appeared that “The simple measure of time spent with others led to a day-to-day measurement linked with happiness.” In fact, when asked of our married couples, now in their 80s, their response was “In particular, the more time they spent with their partners, the more happiness they reported.” It was also noted that happy marriages even prevented them, when in poor health, from experiencing stronger expected pain responses from their bodies.
Conversely, growing evidence from recent scientific research has concluded “Loneliness is associated with greater sensitivity to pain, suppression of the immune system, diminished brain function and less effective sleep.” In fact, these same findings have shown that “for older people, loneliness is twice as unhealthy as obesity. Chronic loneliness increases a person’s odds of death in any given year by 26%.” The feeling of loneliness is said to be likened to an alarm ringing in the body. Living with that chronic alarm all day and everyday gives us a sense of what chronic loneliness can be doing to our stressed out minds and bodies.
In 2018, it was discovered that the average American spent an incredible 11 hours each day interacting with media from TV to radio to smartphones-computers. WSJ explains, “We don’t need to be with all of our good friends (and family) all of the time.” The article continues “but most of us have friends and relatives who energize us and who we don’t see enough.” Over and over again, when the participants in the Harvard Study reached their 70s and 80s, they would make a point of saying that “what they valued most were their relationships with friends and family.” It is not too late to make this happen in our own lives!
