Keys to Long Life? Not What You Might Expect

[n2doc]

ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2011) — Cheer up. Stop worrying. Don’t work so hard. Good advice for a long life? As it turns out, no. In a groundbreaking study of personality as a predictor of longevity, University of California, Riverside researchers found just the opposite.

"It's surprising just how often common assumptions -- by both scientists and the media -- are wrong," said Howard S. Friedman, distinguished professor of psychology who led the 20-year study.

Friedman and Leslie R. Martin , a 1996 UCR alumna (Ph.D.) and staff researchers, have published those findings in "The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study" (Hudson Street Press, March 2011).

Friedman and Martin examined, refined and supplemented data gathered by the late Stanford University psychologist Louis Terman and subsequent researchers on more than 1,500 bright children who were about 10 years old when they were first studied in 1921. "Probably our most amazing finding was that personality characteristics and social relations from childhood can predict one's risk of dying decades later," Friedman concluded.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110311153541.htm

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Wow, a followup on the old Terman genius studies.

Thanks. I didn't know about this. I'll be looking for that study in the professional literature.

[canoeist52]

2. Helping and sharing with others is good for ya. Who'd a thought?

"People who feel loved and cared for report a better sense of well-being, but it doesn't help them live longer. The clearest health benefit of social relationships comes from being involved with and helping others."

[bemildred]

3. I think not dying too soon is the main thing.

If you don't die too soon, that is a good indicator of long life.