Good Relationships = Long & Happy Life: Harvard Study of Adult Development

Harvard University has been running a longitudinal study that began 87 years ago, in 1938. The study included 724 participants and it followed the lives of these participants to assess how various behaviors, social factors, and physical traits affected people's wellbeing and life course. Currently, the study has grown to 2,500 participants, including the wives and descendants of the original participants.

Without a doubt, the biggest measure of long term health are good relationships. People who are more socially connected to family, friends, community overall live longer and happier lives. They get sick less frequently and recover from illness faster.

You can learn a lot more about various findings by going to the study website:

https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/

The data collected by the study over decades, consisting of medical records, brain scans, in-person interviews and questionnaires, allows researchers to draw some conclusions about factors that affect wellbeing and life longevity.