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80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

news.harvard.edu

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Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#131

Post by heydonovan »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #46
biofox wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just described my life with uncanny accuracy. I have suspected for some time that my problems were due to social isolation, but I have been too apathetic to make an effort to do anything. You've just given me the motivation to change that. Thank you!

I wish there were a Tinder for friends. It's a shame no one would use it.

An app for friendship sounds too broad. I've tried meetup.com a few times, but all the events seem to take place while I'm at work (I'm pretty much night shift), so that didn't work out. I'd suggest finding a community that interests you, and looking for a local meetup.

For example, there are tons of video game forums out there, but if you focus on one game, the pool gets smaller, but more tight. I've met a few people IRL playing Destiny, and tons more online. Maybe someone else has more suggestions!

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#132

Post by indescions_2017 »

I've got a simple hack I employ when in a new city. All through my twenties, I moved basically every year or two. Most of the time I had a network of family or associates to drawn upon before arrival. But often, I'd find myself a complete stranger, knowing not a single soul.

What I'd do is this: find a local diner, not a touristy place, but a real local institution and landmark. And then eat dinner there every single night at the same time. If constrained budget wise, look for the early bird dinner specials. Become a regular. Trade gossip with the wait-staff, complement the cooks on their sublime creations, chat up the little old ladies, engage the workmen about their craft. After a few weeks you'll find yourself invited to birthday parties and have the opportunity to give back your own time and energy, shovelling a driveway or helping out at a food drive.

A summer time variant: farmers markets. They typically have the same vendors every week and will remember you if you purchase a quart of organic honey and ask with genuine interest questions about their practise. Offer to get them started on Facebook / Shopify. Pretty soon, word spreads and you're no longer a stranger in town!

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#133

Post by dsfyu404ed »

yosito wrote: post #105
mobilefriendly wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may be particularly true in romantic relationships.

It may also be particularly false in romantic relationships. Have you met my ex?

When you buy a Kia and it breaks it's "unreliable".

When you buy a Ferrari and it breaks it's "temperamental" or "quirky".

A Toyota may cost a pretty penny and be more reliable than the Kia but the Ferrari looks much better in your garage and is much more fun to take for a spin.

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#134

Post by visakanv »

indescions_2017 wrote: post #132

I've got a simple hack I employ when in a new city. All through my twenties, I moved basically every year or two. Most of the time I had a network of family or associates to drawn upon before arrival. But often, I'd find myself a complete stranger, knowing not a single soul. What I'd do is this: find a local diner, not a touristy place, but a real local institution and landmark. And then eat dinner there every single…

That's a really cool story. I'd love to read about your experiences in greater detail. Any chance you might have a blog?

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#135

Post by reckoner2 »

kevstev wrote: post #125
rubicon33 wrote: post #8

What I take from this article is that social interaction is extremely important to ones health, and it's something that we largely taken for granted. In the age of computers and secluded work environments, I think we need to be aware of the effect that even casual interaction has on our mental and physical health. I have some personal/anecdotal experience which back this research up and affirms my belief that communi…

I went from very brutal environments (massively stressful jobs in algorithmic trading, generally sitting on loud trading floors with late hours, weekends, etc) to working remotely and found almost the opposite. Instead of being sick several times a year- we would literally watch colds and other illnesses work their way up and down the rows, I instead got sick maybe once a year. Solving problems in a nice quiet room w…

The quality of social interaction is very important. None of the relationships you described seemed overly healthy. The study shows that it was good, warm, reciprocal relationships that factored into improved mental health. I work on a trading floor as well, and while I do enjoy it, I put in lots of work to have healthy social relationships outside of work.

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#136

Post by beefield »

graphitezepp wrote: post #120
beefield wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some point I thought there should be an app for lonely people to get know each other. but I am a bit afraid that being lonely is much more difficult to admit to even oneself than being single, so I started thinking that the app should not be about loneliness, but about things to do or help needed in simple things. So I guess it should be something remotely resembling twitter that is geographically filterable. so t…

At the IT company I used to work at, our CTO constantly raged over people asking for technical solutions for their own management problems, which is a pattern I have internalized. Sometimes things are social issues that need to be solved socially. I don't think there is going to be a systematic way to keep creeps out and prevent the asshole minority, people are just going to have work things out as a society.

I think it is quite difficult to let complete strangers to your home without any help from technology. I don't think this app would need any rocket science, but I would guess that a simple way to verify who you are dealing with and make that public ("John Doe is joining our board game night today") and some kind of scoring system ("John Doe has wanted help x times and given help y times and on average people do not seem to think he is an asshole")

But I think the crucial point is that if you want to fight loneliness, it is difficult to do that if the lonely one is made to think that he is now getting something because he is lonely. That will instead make him feel worse. It would be much better to tell to the lonely one that hey, just you, I would need your help. (Complete amateur psychologist writing here)

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#137

Post by visakanv »

heydonovan wrote: post #129
rubicon33 wrote: post #8

What I take from this article is that social interaction is extremely important to ones health, and it's something that we largely taken for granted. In the age of computers and secluded work environments, I think we need to be aware of the effect that even casual interaction has on our mental and physical health. I have some personal/anecdotal experience which back this research up and affirms my belief that communi…

It's frightening how accurate this describes my situation as well. Went 3+ years working at a startup where essentially we were one giant family, everyone hung out after work, and I rarely had time to myself. Everything technical was super easy to digest, I was exercising every other day, and I was on top of my game. Now most of my days are spent working from home, and the only human interaction are the cashiers at t…

> and the only human interaction are the cashiers at the grocery store

Why is that? Even Elon Musk spends times with his kids. What's keeping you from spending time with people you care about?

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#138

Post by dajohnson89 »

Lxr wrote: post #101

There's no mention of how they sort correlation from causation. Does being physically healthy perhaps also lead to happier relationships?

Besides health, might financial well-being also lead to healthier/happier relationships? If you're poor and have to work two full-time jobs, the precious free time you do have may not be easily allocated to socializing. And, many social hobbies require capital.

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#139

Post by 659087 »

dang wrote: post #67
LoSboccacc wrote: post #58

Don't worry too much this study is bullshit Step 1 - be an adult white male graduated at the beginning of an unprecedented and unique economic boom Step 2 - graduate out of the most prominent college of the period Step 3 - watch your asset grow themselves Step 4 - enjoy the life without never have to worry about job security, housing, spending power Yeah no shit sherlock. I guess being upper middle class does wonder…

Please don't post snarky internet insta-dismissals to HN. They greatly lower the quality of discussion, even when they have some good points to make. There are several such posts in this thread and that's a problem. The entire genre of internet comments that dismiss the life-work of others with a contemptuous hand-wave is problematic. Critique is good, but it should seriously engage with what it is criticizing. That…

I find your posts grating and awkward. Particularly when you get into preaching the "holy gospel of pg" as you did in another post above.

Re: 80-year Harvard study has been showing how to live a healthy and happy life

#140

Post by visakanv »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #46
biofox wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just described my life with uncanny accuracy. I have suspected for some time that my problems were due to social isolation, but I have been too apathetic to make an effort to do anything. You've just given me the motivation to change that. Thank you!

I wish there were a Tinder for friends. It's a shame no one would use it.

The best way to meet people is not "I'm looking to meet people" – because then those events and spaces get filled with social outcasts and creepy folks.

The best way to meet people is to look for activity groups, meetups and so on. People with common interests. I'd even argue that this is actually a better way to find romantic partners, than to signal "I am looking for a romantic partner" (unless you're above-average in attractiveness).

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