An 87-year-old happiness experiment has revealed something we all already know

One of the world’s longest-running experiments focuses on happiness. The experiment, which has lasted almost 87 years, aims to understand what makes a person happy and healthy, IFL Science reported. The Harvard Study of Adult Development began in 1938 as two separate studies. The first was the Grant Study, funded by the William T. Grant Foundation and led by Dr. George E. Vaillant. The study involved 268 men from Harvard University’s undergraduate classes.

At the same time, the Glueck study also started with 456 male participants from the Boston area. The aim of both experiments was to follow participants throughout their lives to find out which factors influence their health and happiness as they age.

Believe it or not, US President John F. Kennedy was among the participants in this study. Today, only a few participants in the original experiment are still alive.

The study has now moved into second-generation mode, where the children of the original participants are being monitored. The psychiatrist Dr. Robert Waldinger leads this study.

Waldinger and deputy director Dr. Marc Schulz have published the results in a book entitled “The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness”.

The biggest takeaway from the study is that relationships matter most. Waldinger told the Harvard Gazette in 2017 that “our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships have a strong impact on our health.”

“Taking care of your body is important, but taking care of your relationships is also a form of self-care. That, in my opinion, is the revelation,” he added.

The study found, particularly in light of the COVID-19 times, that loneliness has an impact on health. According to some other studies, the effects of isolation are similar to those of smoking or obesity. In older people, loneliness can lead to heart disease. In contrast, social contact can lead to better brain health.

The “loneliness epidemic” has also been described as a serious problem by the World Health Organization (WHO). The world body called for the problem to be “recognized and resourced as a global public health priority.”

However, that doesn’t mean introverts are unhealthy. Waldinger says, “You may only need one or two really solid relationships and don’t want many more people. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.”

It’s more about the quality of relationships than the quantity.