Turns out Joy Beats Genetics When It Comes to Living Healthy Longer

Do You Remember the song “Happy” by Pharrel:

Turns out Joy Beats Genetics When It Comes to Living Healthy Longer

Do You Remember the song “Happy” by Pharrel:

Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth / (Because I’m happy)

Clap along if you know what happiness is to you / (Because I’m happy)

Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do / (Because I’m happy)

Back in 1938, Harvard enrolled 268 sophomore male students (including future President John F. Kennedy) in a longitudinal study to examine factors that contribute to a healthy and cheerful life. Last week or maybe two ago, some of the data came out: They made quite a few notable findings:

· The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships (posse) at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80.

· Those who lived longer and enjoyed sound health avoided smoking and alcohol in excess.

· Researchers also found that those with strong social support (posse) experienced less mental deterioration as they aged.

· Individuals who maintained and invested in relationships (more posse) got to live longer and happier.

· Surprisingly, several studies found that people’s level of satisfaction with their relationships at age 50 was a better predictor of physical health than their lousy LDL cholesterol levels were.

Another set of data comes from the Jerusalem longitudinal cohort study that examined participants born from 1920-1921 at ages 70,78,85, and 90. They found that optimism from 85-90 decreased 5-year mortality rates from ages 85-90 and 90-95. “Among the total sample between ages 85–90 and 90–95, a total of 27.5% and 34.9%, died, compared to 33.2% and 44.3% respectively, among subjects free from depression”. (DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glab051).

Another data set indicated that people with high optimism levels (compared to people with low optimism levels) are at a 35% lower risk of cardiovascular events (DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.12200). This benefit is due to optimists generally caring for themselves by not smoking, maintaining a healthful diet and exercise routine. On the other hand, the pessimists have higher inflammatory markers and greater risk of depression. Thus, increasing one’s propensity for disease.

A 2019 study took data from a cohort of women in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Ageing Study (NAS). The researchers found that “women in the highest versus lowest optimism quartile had 14.9% longer life span” (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900712116).

The keys to joy, happiness, and optimism from the above group of studies seem to be the same as for managing stress-posse, purpose, and play. How do I try to incorporate those?

When things are going sour and you are in periods of extreme stress, because life happens, I (andYou) need an anchor. My three anchors have always been medicine with care for patients (purpose), family and friends (posse) , and exercise (squash in the old days—playing with a posse—and just plain biking and weights now mixed in with joy from watching Cleveland sports teams while riding a bike or treadmilling at home(play). When one or two of my anchors were going wrong, I always have the other(s) that bring me joy.

Now for several weekends I will get rid of the I-phone and just meet with posse in person, and yes hike and walk and talk. (The camp will have someone looking full time for weather warnings after those horrible events in Flash Flood Alley—so I won’t need the I-phone—but if we get a warning, the posse and I will heed now more than we would have) Those long weekends with posse will bring me joy.

I’ll play a little golf with high school classmates a month later (thank you Warren and Mike et al). Although golf is the hardest on the back of the adult sports, as friend Gary Player says and demonstrates, you can play (with your posse) till very late in life. And as our new granddaughter Cameron and Pharrel do, I’ll Clap along if you know what happiness is to you / (Because I’m happy)

More on the latest in longevity in this spot next week (my purpose). But for this week, just those NHS, NAS, Jerusalem longitudinal cohort studies and Harvard joy and happiness data from this past week’s articles and reading. But that reading brings up a wish for you.

For the rest of this summer my hope for you (as I) is to find happiness and joy by investing time with posse, purpose and play.

Thanks for reading,

Michael F. Roizen, MD

Jermani M. Jones, Research associate