The key to a long life isn’t money or genetics – it’s ‘relationships, relationships, relationships


People have been looking for the secret to living a long life since the dawn of time – and now Harvard scientists might just have found it.
According to an 80-year study by the Ivy League university, having a network of strong relationships is the key to longevity.
‘The people who were most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80,’ says Robert Waldinger, director of the study and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
The Harvard Second Generation Study began in 1938 when a team of researchers began tracking the lives and health of 268 male Harvard undergrads.
In the subsequent years, the study has expanded to include their wives, 465 Boston inner-city residents and their wives and 1,300 of the Harvard students’ offspring – who are now in their 50s and 60s.
Their health and lives were tracked in general, including successes and failures in careers and love, via medical records, interviews and questionnaires.
The key to a long life isn't money or genetics - it's relationships
(Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)
Later on, DNA testing and MRI scans were used to get a more accurate picture of every person’s health.
And after 80 years of testing, the study found that wealth, social class, genetics, social class and IQ aren’t as important to longevity and happiness as a person’s relationships with their friends, family and community.
And that’s shocked researchers.
‘When the study began, nobody cared about empathy or attachment,’ George Vaillant, a psychiatrist who led the team from 1972 to 2004 explains.

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