Work harder, live longer! Think joining the gym and quitting your job will do you good? A new book says quite the opposite...

By Louise Atkinson

Last updated at 8:25 AM on 20th June 2011

We’re always being told the secret of eternal youth lies in working less, banishing stress, pushing ourselves through a brutal daily exercise regime and being relentlessly cheerful.

But fascinating new research from the U.S. has turned that thinking on its head.

By studying death certificates of 1,500 boys and girls who took part in a landmark research project in the 1920s, researchers have identified personality traits and lifestyle choices that really ensure a long life — and those that don’t.

Eternal youth: New research has identified personality traits and lifestyle choices that really ensure a long life and those that don't

Psychologists Dr Howard Friedman and Dr Leslie Martin traced what happened to the children who took part in Dr Lewis Terman’s 1921 study. They interviewed those still alive, and catalogued the lives and health of those who had died.

Having a large social network, engaging in physical activities that naturally draw you in (rather than feeling obliged go to the gym), giving back to your community, enjoying your career and nurturing a happy marriage or close friendships can do more than add years to your life. 

Buying time: Having a large social network, engaging in physical activities that naturally draw you in and enjoying close friendships can do more than add years to your life

‘Our society spends a fortune on fad diets, drugs and short-term remedies, but there is often disappointingly little effect on our longevity,’ says Dr Friedman. ‘Standard medical advice often backfires, leaving us overweight and overstressed as we struggle to follow specific edicts.’

Here, based on the research, we present the real secrets to a long and happy life . . .

1 BE MORE CONSCIENTIOUS

HOW CONSCIENTIOUS ARE YOU?

Give each of these a score, from one (a very inaccurate description of you) to five (very accurate), with three being neither

1 I am always prepared

2 I never leave my belongings around

3 I enjoy planning my work in detail

4 I rarely make a mess of things

5 I get chores done right away

6 I never forget to put things back in their proper place.

7 I like order

8 I never shirk my duties

9 I follow a schedule

10 I am persistent in the accomplishment of my work

Add up your scores

Between 10 and 24 shows low conscientiousness; between 37 and 50 is very high, with anything in between meaning you are moderately conscientious

This is the best predictor of longevity. If you’re careful with money, thoughtful and detail-oriented, you are more likely to live a longer life. Conscientious people tend to be sensible, less likely to smoke, drink to excess, abuse drugs or drive too fast, and they follow doctors’ orders.

The research shows that conscientious people are biologically predisposed to be healthier and enjoy a longer life, possibly because they have different levels of certain chemicals in their brains, including the neurotransmitter serotonin (those with low levels tend to be much more impulsive).

The study found conscientious people also tend to live longer because they seem to be naturally drawn into healthier and happier situations and relationships — marriages, friendships and work.
If you’re not conscientious, you’re not necessarily doomed, but you’re not likely to change your lifestyle rapidly. Those who started out ‘unconscientious’ but entered positions requiring maturity and growth — and so increased their levels of prudence and persistence — closed much of the gap on naturally conscientious people.

2 BE SELECTIVE WITH FRIENDS

Surprisingly, the study found popular people are not necessarily destined to enjoy long and happy lives: the sociable, outgoing children grew up to drink more and smoke more. But for social butterflies, all is not lost. Just be selective about those with whom you socialise (even if you just chat to them on social networking sites).

Re-organise your social life so you spend less time with friends or acquaintances who bring you down or lead you astray and as much time as possible with happy, healthy, active people.
Setting aside a few hours each week to volunteer, or joining a group that shares one of your passions, can also help.

3 DON'T BE TOO CHEERFUL

Intriguingly, the study shows that cheerful, optimistic children were less likely to live to an old age than their more staid and sober counterparts. The detrimental link between cheerfulness and early death was as significant as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The reasoning is that happy people could dangerously underestimate risks to their health and therefore fail to take precautions.

4 STOP FEARING THE WORSE

ARE YOU A WORRIER?

Use the same scoring system as before:

1 I worry that life will get worse and worse

2 When I look at the state of the world, I find it really hard to see opportunities anywhere

3 I’m an unlucky influence - when I get involved in something, it always seems to go wrong

4 I routinely blow my chances and mess up my opportunities

5 I fear the worst is going to happen

6 When I mess up on little things, other things start falling apart

Around 12 - average; below 10 - particularly mellow; 24 or higher - you are a catastrophiser

For many people, nagging thoughts and irksome concerns are normal. But avoid extreme worry, or what the researchers call ‘catastrophising’. 

The study found that male catastrophisers were more likely to die from accidents or violence. It seems that people who believe having one significant problem is a sign that lots and lots of bad things will follow, are more likely to put themselves on to risky paths.

After becoming ill, a catastrophiser may believe that ‘everything is over’, and they might become despondent, imprudent and unmotivated.

Catastrophic thought processes can be changed. When one pops into your head, say to yourself: ‘Stop!’, and immediately replace that thought with a more positive one.

This Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be extremely effective.

5 CANCEL THAT GYM MEMBERSHIP

Staying physically fit is important to good health and long life, but the study showed those who make resolutions to go running or to join a gym aren’t the ones who necessarily succeeded and lived longer. Many of them ended up sedentary and had a shorter lifespan.

It was those whose habits, routines and social lives (rather than their expensive gym memberships) encouraged movement and made it difficult to sit in one place who lived the longest. But sedentary children who got active in later life were able to catch up. Even becoming mildly active after a no-exercise childhood will lengthen your life.

6 DON'T REMARRY

While a happy marriage increases life expectancy in both husband and wife, this isn’t so for a less harmonious union. Women do, however, fare better than men after divorce.

WISE WORDS
The world's oldest person, Besse Cooper, 114, puts it down to 'not eating junk food' and 'minding her own business'

After divorce, men seem to suffer the most (fewer than a third in the study lived to old age) even if they remarry. But divorced women do well, particularly if they avoid re-marrying.

Many lived nearly as long as their happily married counterparts.

The study shows children of parents who split up can expect a shorter lifespan — on average, almost five years earlier.

7 DON'T GIVE UP YOUR STRESSFUL JOB FOR AN EASY LIFE

‘Relax’, ‘avoid stress’, ‘don’t work too hard’ turned out to be poor advice, according to the study. It found no evidence that people told to relax will necessarily become healthier. Those men who were carefree, undependable and unambitious in childhood and very unsuccessful in their careers had a huge increase in their mortality risk compared with hard workers.

Diligence and accomplishment was a strong predictor of long life, and those with the most career success were the least likely to die young. In fact, on average, the most successful men lived five years longer than the least successful.

Extracted from The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries For Health And Long Life From The Landmark Eight-decade Study by Dr Howard Friedman and Dr Leslie Martin (Hay House).