By: Caleb Long
To live a long life filled with good health and happy memories sounds like a dream. Of course, we all want this. But the question remains, what leads to such a great life? In a Ted Talk with over 18 million views, a Harvard Medical School professor of psychiatry, named Robert Waldinger, gave the world some insight into how a great life is achieved.
Dr. Waldinger is the most recent director of a Harvard longitudinal study that has followed 268 Harvard sophomores, and their eventual families, since 1938. The goal of this study was to reveal clues to leading healthy and happy lives. After following these students and their families for over 80 years, researchers have collected a plethora of data on physical and mental health throughout the lifespan.
Some of these Harvard graduates went on to live highly successful lives with great careers and families. A few notable graduates that were studied include President John F. Kennedy and Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. The eventual offspring of these 268 graduates were also studied and so were their wives. The wives and the daughters were the first women in the study, as Harvard was still a men-only school when the study began. The study later expanded to not only study Harvard students, but to also study 456 Boston inner-city residents in the 1970s. While some of the people studied went on to become successful doctors, businessmen, and lawyers, others ended up as alcoholics and schizophrenics.
The findings from this study came as a surprise to the researchers. Dr. Waldinger told the audience, “The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health.” The study found that the presence of strong relationships with family, friends, and community were the leading predictor for a happy and healthy life in the long run. Dr Waldinger explains his findings saying, “When we gathered together everything we knew about them at age 50, it wasn’t their middle-aged cholesterol levels that predicted how they were going to grow old, it was how satisfied they were in their relationships. The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80.”
While this study shows that strong meaningful relationships are the greatest factor for having a happy and healthy life, that does not mean that you should neglect the importance of your physical and mental health. It is the balance of all three of these areas in your life that will lead to health and happiness. Go out and create meaningful connections with people. Tell your family that you love them and ask your friends to spend time together. Nobody can be their best without the support and love of others.