#364 Lessons From The World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness with Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Dr Rangan Chatterjee

Health & Fitness, Medicine, Alternative Health, Mental Health

4.8 • 10.9K Ratings

🗓️ 23 May 2023

⏱️ 127 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

By the end of today’s episode, I’m pretty sure you’ll feel inspired to reconnect with an old friend, phone that family member you don’t see enough, or make plans for a face-to-face get-together. You’ll feel happier, and even be healthier if you do, because the quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.

My guests, Professors Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz are co-authors of The Good Life: Lessons From The World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. They are the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development which is an extraordinary research project that started back in 1938 and is now in its 85th year.

Robert is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also a Zen priest and meditation teacher. Marc is Professor of Psychology and Director of Data Science at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and is also a practicing therapist.

They are both passionate about spreading the crucial message that high-quality relationships are one of the biggest predictors of happiness, health and longevity and, therefore, prioritising how and with whom you spend your time may just be one of the most important things you can do for your mental and physical health.

We discuss why loneliness increases our risk of death in comparable ways to smoking or obesity and what this 85-year-old study can teach all of us about how to have a meaningful and satisfying life. The study followed the same participants and their families, taking biological measurements and asking detailed questions. Its goal has always been to understand contentment and what it really means to live a good life.

We talk about different types of relationships and how toxic friendships and partnerships can be damaging. We also discuss why frequency and quality both matter when it comes to our relationships, the importance for all of us to have one or two ‘securely attached’ relationships and we discuss the fact that vibrant social lives and close relationships, don’t come easily to everyone.

Robert and Marc share some fantastic insights on what people can do if they are struggling, the importance of listening and being ‘radically curious’ and how we can nurture better relationships with ourselves.

This really was an uplifting and inspiring conversation with two wonderful human beings. I hope you enjoy listening.

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Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/364

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Stress is there all day long. I mean something upsetting happens to me and I can literally feel my body change.
0:06.5	Go into fight or flight mode. And that means higher levels of circulating. Stress hormones like cortisol,
0:13.5	higher levels of chronic inflammation. And those things can gradually break down multiple body systems.
0:21.7	Good relationships help us regulate emotion, particularly negative emotion. So if we are too alone,
0:29.8	we stay in a low level fight or flight mode. So invest in relationships. It's the best payoff you'll get throughout your life.
0:40.1	Hey guys, how you doing? Hope you have any good weeks so far.
0:44.5	My name is Dr. Rangan Chatejee and this is my podcast. Feel better. Live more.
0:52.7	I think today's conversation is one that you are going to find uplifting and inspiring.
0:59.7	And I think it's going to remind you of something you already intuitively know that the quality of your relationships determine the quality of your life.
1:09.7	My guests are Professor Robert Waldinger and Professor Mark Schultz who are co-authors of the new book, The Good Life.
1:18.7	Lessons from the world's longest scientific study on happiness. They are the directors of something called the Harvard Study of Adult Development,
1:27.7	which is an extraordinary research project that started all the way back in 1938 and is now in its 85th year.
1:37.7	Robert is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He's also a Zen priest and meditation teacher.
1:44.7	Marcus Professor of Psychology and the Director of Data Science at Brynmore College in Pennsylvania and is also a practicing therapist.
1:54.7	They are both passionate about spreading the crucial message that high quality relationships are one of the biggest predictors of happiness, health and longevity.
2:07.7	And therefore prioritizing how and with whom you spend your time, may just be one of the most important things that you can do for your mental and physical health.
2:18.7	During our conversation, we discuss why loneliness increases our risk of death in comparable ways to smoking or obesity.
2:27.7	And what this 85 year old study spanning three generations can teach all of us about a meaningful and satisfying life.
2:37.7	We talk about the different types of relationships and how toxic friendships and partnerships can actually be damaging.
2:44.7	And we also discuss why frequency and quality both matter when it comes to our relationships.
2:50.7	We talk about the importance for all of us to have one or two securely attached relationships.
2:56.7	And I think importantly, we discuss the fact that vibrant social lives and close relationships don't come easily to everyone.
	...

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