Harvard University conducted the longest-running study of aging, which ended with the publication of a book,  Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life from the Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development. The author, George E. Vaillant, M.D., was the last director of the study. It followed men and women of all socioeconomic groups to see if it would be possible to identify which factors favored aging well.

The study’s conclusions are fascinating. If this topic interests or concerns you, consider it must reading.

The Harvard study arrived at the same conclusions the Gallup poll below shows—but can explain why these findings are right.

The Harvard study shows how people can overcome tough starts in life and how people adapt to losses of all kinds throughout their lives. The book also tells readers why it is essential to continue to grow as adults, the work of adult development, so that the last years one can be happy ones.

One of the most puzzling profiles in Aging Well is one about a woman in California. She came from a well-to-do family, graduated from a women’s college, came home to live and essentially went to the symphony for the rest of her life. Vaillant could not find the answer to why her life was so limited although privileged.

The New York Times

…”A large Gallup poll has found that by almost any measure, people get happier as they get older, and researchers are not sure why.

“It could be that there are environmental changes,” said Arthur A. Stone, the lead author of a new study based on the survey, “or it could be psychological changes about the way we view the world, or it could even be biological — for example brain chemistry or endocrine changes.”

“The telephone survey, carried out in 2008, covered more than 340,000 people nationwide, ages 18 to 85, asking various questions about age and sex, current events, personal finances, health and other matters.

“The survey also asked about “global well-being” by having each person rank overall life satisfaction on a 10-point scale, an assessment many people may make from time to time, if not in a strictly formalized way.”

Source: New York Times, May 31, 2010