What Did the Greatest Study on Human Happiness Teach Us?

This text was written by a TecMundo columnist; Learn more at the end.

“Quality social relationships are the most important factor for human well-being. Good relationships keep us happier and healthier, period. This is the final talk of one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. The speaker is Robert Waldinger, the current director of the longest study ever conducted on human happiness.

Let’s understand how this study was conducted and how its results can contribute to the formation of a very desirable habit: doing physical exercise.

study and book

The book “A good life” (good lifeIt tells the true stories of participants in the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest-running study of human life, launched in 2022 by two study directors, aiming to answer the question: What makes us happy in life?

The study began in 1938 with 724 first-generation participants: 268 young men from Harvard and 456 young men from suburban Boston. There have been 85 years of research, and today the children of the original participants (about 1,300 people) are the target of research into their lives, especially their physical and mental health.

Every 2 years, they answer surveys about their health, the quality of their marriage, their job and career, aging, and many other issues. Some health data is collected every 5 years, and in-depth interviews are conducted every 10 years. The main conclusion of the follow-up study is: Good relationships keep us happier, healthier and help us live longer.

Analogy with exercises

Just as we have physical fitness that we need to exercise to maintain and improve our body physique, such as gaining strength when lifting weights at the gym, the authors emphasize the importance of social fitness, and needs effort to maintain healthy social relationships.

An interesting concept covered in the book is radical curiosity, and you can apply it to your life. Essentially, it is reversing the social situation we have with some close people where we have lived around them for years and have lost curiosity about them because we think we know them well enough.

In fact, when we have been together for five, ten, twenty years, we know much less how the other person feels. Re-awakening curiosity about people’s lives is a form of social skill. Relationships can make us happier, and they can also help with a very important behavior: physical activity..

Understand how important relationships are to physical activity

An important consideration for a healthy habit such as physical activity Make exercise a social activity. Contrary to the “cover your face and work out” adage imposed on us by social networks, exercise is a daily socialization opportunity.

Social connections are a basic human psychological need. In a study of gyms in Korea, these were the strongest predictors of keeping people exercising in the first three months, a period often characterized by quitting the sport.

It seems so Connecting socially is a good way to build exercise habits. It is natural for our species to socialize and belong.

Feelings of support, connection, and belonging to other people from the social environment are part of our origin and evolution.

Another study demonstrated the power of a sense of community, with 96% adherence to exercises in the CrossFit box; It’s a feat that comes down to four key elements:

• Commitment: a sense of belonging or personal relationship with other people in the group;
• Impact: feeling like you are important and/or can make a difference within the group;
• Integration and need fulfillment: feeling that your needs will be met through group participation;
• Shared emotional connection: Commitment and belief in sharing similarities and experiences over time.

In addition to making exercise a more enjoyable activity, because we enjoy being with the people we love, It can manifest emotionally through social support, encouragement, encouragement, and pride.; instrumentally, such as logistics (transportation to the exercise site – transportation by vehicle), and informationally, such as teaching and instructing between people.

Invite a friend or family member to exercise together, or Joining an exercise group can be beneficial to your health in at least two areas: relationships and body movement.. Together, these behaviors have the potential for a happier, more fulfilling life.

A simple, effective and scientific measure to encourage the habit of exercise is to make exercise a social activity. Human connection through social relationships is key to health and well-being; physical exercise is a valuable opportunity for this. Entertainment.

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Fábio Dominski He holds a PhD in Human Movement Sciences and a degree in Physical Education from Santa Catarina State University (UDESC). He is a university professor and researcher at the Laboratory of Sport and Exercise Psychology (LAPE/UDESC). He promotes the science in a podcast available on social media and Spotify. Author of Physical Exercise and Science – Facts and Myths.