This week, I’ve been busy scripting the next video on the topic – What leads to happy life?
I’m hugely inspired by video essay YouTube channels like Kurzgesagt that are packed with research but presented in a way that’s engaging. So I’m writing a longer script and have some different editing techniques I want to try out.
It’s taking me longer to write because, well, it’s longer – but also because I’ve been diving deep into the research and reading all the white papers I can that aren’t behind paywalls! Funny, when I was a student, I didn’t really enjoy research, but now I’m setting the topics myself, I can’t get enough of it!
Just goes to show how much energy you can have when you’re following your curiosity!
I’m also making a free downloadable worksheet to go along with the video. And of course, turning the research into practical things we can do to make our lives happier.
While you wait, I’ll give you a sneak peek into some of the research that I’ve found the most interesting!
An 87 Year Old Study
The longest study into happiness and wellbeing was started by Harvard in 1938!
The Harvard Study of Adult Development began by following 724 men. 268 Harvard sophomores and 456 from low income neighbourhoods in Boston.
While not very representative at the beginning (they were all white men!) it did expand over time to include 1300 descendants of the original study group.
The study followed them throughout their whole lives checking in at least every 2 years. The participants shared medical records, completed questionnaires and had in depth interviews.
As technology evolved so did the data collection. Expanding into brain imaging, blood tests, DNA sampling and even testing strands of hair to see how much stress they had experienced over time!
Around 60 of the original cohort are still alive in their 90s!
What did they find?
Accounting for all other variables – income, marital status, occupation, health etc.
They found that the number 1 thing that leads to a happier life and more wellbeing is relationships.
But you don’t need loads of social connections.
3-5 deep and meaningful relationships is better than having lots of superficial ones.
The benefits to emotional wellbeing from these relationships seems obvious, but what is more interesting is that it’s also good for our brains and our bodies.
Researchers found that loneliness increases stress and inflammation in our bodies. So much so that:
Loneliness is as harmful to our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.1
Yikes!
But on the flip side:
“The people who were happiest, who stayed healthiest as they grew old, and who lived the longest were the people who had the warmest connections with other people,”2
Professor Robert Waldinger, Director of The Harvard Study of Adult Development
What about money?
Ask most people what they think will lead to a happier life and most will say money.
In fact, they’ll say that the more money you have, the happier you’ll be. Is it true?
Well. Maybe.
It actually depends how happy you are before you get more money!
If you have a ‘low baseline of happiness’ according to researchers, your happiness will plateau at around $116,500 a year. (Still a high annual income!) But after this point your happiness won’t go up anymore.3
If you’re a cup half full kind of person, the more money you have, the happier you will get. So the trick is to work on your happiness levels now, so when you do win the lottery you’ll be the happiest person around!
More goodies
I have a lot more to share about building deep and meaningful relationships, more on the psychology of money and happiness, and the downloadable free resource too!
All being well, I should get the video out next week. I’d love to hear what you think. Please let me know via email or in the comments.
- Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review. March 11, 2015. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, Mark Baker, Tyler Harris, and David Stephenson. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1745691614568352 ↩︎
- https://www.weforum.org/stories/2023/08/relationships-basis-long-healthy-life/ ↩︎
- https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/does-more-money-correlate-greater-happiness-Penn-Princeton-research ↩︎