The speaker in the video below (a Harvard professor) describes the results of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has been going on for the past 75 years.
Begun in 1938 when they were teenagers, it has followed 724 men (60 are still alive, with most now in their 90s)
to determine what factors have most contributed to the life-long happiness and health of the men. (BTW, an academic study still going on after 75 years is
very unusual!)
The findings of the study are what we have heard before, but they do confirm, and perhaps reassure us, that the primary conclusion of the study is valid. Namely, that
good relationships with others (family, friends, community) are the best predictors of good health and happiness in people's older years.
Specifically from the video:
Positive social connections lead to better health. People who are chronically lonely have worse health and shorter lives. Quality of one's relationships, not quantity of them, is what counts. Toxic marriages are even worse than loneliness at damaging health. Positive relationships protect the health of our minds as well as of our bodies. Trust is possibly the single most important aspect of a good relationship. Satisfaction with one's relationships is the single best predictor of health and happiness in one's older years. A specific recommendation: go for less "screen time" and more "people time."The video is a little long (12 min.) but the presenter is a good speaker and discusses the subject well:
/www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness?language=enAgain, a confirmation of what we have already known, but still good advice on how to maximize our health and happiness as the years go by.