Yes, there was a Harvard study that ran for a while seventy-five years. This study was mind-opening, to say the least.
In this study, researchers set out to see what it is that makes a person happy. They followed the lives of two groups of men for over 75 years and now follows their children to understand how childhood experiences reach across decades and how this affects a person’s health and well-being during middle age. While most people think things like money and adventure are what keep up happy and healthy they are wrong.
According to psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, true happiness comes from good relationships. This meaning love is basically what keeps people happy and healthy. Their findings showed that those who felt lonely were more likely to see their physical health decline at an earlier age and even die sooner than others as well. That being said this doesn’t mean you need a ton of friends it just means you need meaningful connections with the ones you do have.
For more on this study and just how intense the findings were please take the time to watch the video below. In this video, Waldinger speaks about all of the things he covered during the course of his study. It is quite interesting.