People are obsessed with being happy. While for many it’s a state of being, others strive to achieve happiness which, in turn, makes them depressed.

Oh, the irony.

But that’s just my thoughts on the pursuit of happiness – let’s see what the world’s longest study of adult life has come up with.

Harvard scientists began tracking the health of 268 Harvard sophomores in 1938 during the Great Depression. During the study, they hoped to find clues leading to healthy and happy lives.

Well, according to Harvard’s Gazette, the scientists got more than they bargained for.

First, their subjects:

Of the original Harvard cohort recruited as part of the Grant Study, only 19 are still alive, all in their mid-90s. Among the original recruits were eventual President John F. Kennedy…

In addition, scientists eventually expanded their research to include the men’s offspring, who now number 1,300 and are in their 50s and 60s, to find out how early-life experiences affect health and aging over time. Some participants went on to become successful businessmen, doctors, lawyers, while others ended up as schizophrenics or alcoholics, but not on inevitable tracks.

That’s a whole lot of people.

Over the years, researchers studied the participants’ “health trajectories and their broader lives, including their triumphs and failures in careers and marriage”, and the findings have produced some startling lessons.

Says Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in his Ted Talk:

“The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health.

Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation.”

You see, self-care! It’s important.

More than money or fame, however, it’s close relationships that keep people going:

Those ties protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or even genes.

That finding proved true across the board among both the Harvard men and the inner-city participants.

Then, there’s marriage:

[M]arital satisfaction has a protective effect on people’s mental health. Part of a study found that people who had happy marriages in their 80s reported that their moods didn’t suffer even on the days when they had more physical pain. Those who had unhappy marriages felt both more emotional and physical pain.

“Loneliness kills,” he said. “It’s as powerful as smoking or alcoholism.”

At the end of the day, prioritising authentic relationships and connections with others leads to a healthier life. After all, the data is clear: you can have all the money you want, but without those loving relationships your life will be as lonely as your deathbed.

If you want a deeper dive into the significance of this study and what it truly means, check out this video below:

[source:harvard]