The Key to Longevity Is Boring

Here’s the bottom-line summary about your relationships—the key points for cultivating your aspen grove: • You need strong human connections to help you get on the second curve and flourish. • No matter how introverted you are, you cannot expect to thrive into old age without healthy, intimate relationships. • For married people, a loving, companio

... See more

According to scientists who have studied the five Blue Zones, the keys to longevity are diet, exercise, finding a purpose in life (an ikigai), and forming strong social ties—that is, having a broad circle of friends and good family relations. Members of these communities manage their time well in order to reduce stress, consume little meat or proce

... See more

The Harvard Study of Adult Development—the world’s longest-running longitudinal study, tracking people since 1938—found that the single strongest predictor of both happiness and physical health in old age was the warmth of participants’ close relationships. In fact, quality of connection at age 50 predicted health at 80 better than cholesterol leve

... See more

Scientific studies suggest that only about 25 percent of how long we live is dictated by genes, according to famous studies of Danish twins. The other 75 percent is determined by our lifestyles and the everyday choices we make.