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The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study
Watch a video Watch a Fox News segment on The Longevity Project.
This landmark study--which Dr. Andrew Weil calls "a remarkable achievement with surprising conclusions"--upends the advice we have been told about how to live to a healthy old age.
We have been told that the key to longevity involves obsessing over what we eat, how much we stress, and how fast we run. Based on the most extensive study of longevity ever conducted, The Longevity Project exposes what really impacts our lifespan-including friends, family, personality, and work.
Gathering new information and using modern statistics to study participants across eight decades, Dr. Howard Friedman and Dr. Leslie Martin bust myths about achieving health and long life. For example, people do not die from working long hours at a challenging job- many who worked the hardest lived the longest. Getting and staying married is not the magic ticket to long life, especially if you're a woman. And it's not the happy-go-lucky ones who thrive-it's the prudent and persistent who flourish through the years.
With questionnaires that help you determine where you are heading on the longevity spectrum and advice about how to stay healthy, this book changes the conversation about living a long, healthy life.
This landmark study--which Dr. Andrew Weil calls "a remarkable achievement with surprising conclusions"--upends the advice we have been told about how to live to a healthy old age.
We have been told that the key to longevity involves obsessing over what we eat, how much we stress, and how fast we run. Based on the most extensive study of longevity ever conducted, The Longevity Project exposes what really impacts our lifespan-including friends, family, personality, and work.
Gathering new information and using modern statistics to study participants across eight decades, Dr. Howard Friedman and Dr. Leslie Martin bust myths about achieving health and long life. For example, people do not die from working long hours at a challenging job- many who worked the hardest lived the longest. Getting and staying married is not the magic ticket to long life, especially if you're a woman. And it's not the happy-go-lucky ones who thrive-it's the prudent and persistent who flourish through the years.
With questionnaires that help you determine where you are heading on the longevity spectrum and advice about how to stay healthy, this book changes the conversation about living a long, healthy life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 13, 2011
97 people are currently reading
1822 people want to read
About the author
Howard S. Friedman
31Ìýbooks11ÌýfollowersHoward S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California in Riverside, California. For three decades, Professor Friedman has studied personality predictors of longevity, developing a scientific understanding of the "disease-prone personality" and the "self-healing personality." His latest book is "The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study."
His scientific work on health and longevity has drawn wide attention in the scientific community and has been featured in popular media worldwide. In 2008, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) awarded him the James McKeen Cattell Fellow award, citing his research and ideas that are "changing how we think about the nature of health." Dr. Friedman is also the recipient of the career award for "Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology" from the American Psychological Association (Div. 38). Professor Friedman is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); the American Psychological Association (APA); and the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Dr. Friedman is the Editor of the scientific journal called the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. His research on nonverbal expressiveness and personal charisma has been widely applied in health promotion, leadership training, medical education, and viral marketing. The winner of several teaching awards, Friedman writes his books in an easy-read style, with the earnest learner in mind. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, Friedman received his doctorate from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow.
His scientific work on health and longevity has drawn wide attention in the scientific community and has been featured in popular media worldwide. In 2008, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) awarded him the James McKeen Cattell Fellow award, citing his research and ideas that are "changing how we think about the nature of health." Dr. Friedman is also the recipient of the career award for "Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology" from the American Psychological Association (Div. 38). Professor Friedman is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); the American Psychological Association (APA); and the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Dr. Friedman is the Editor of the scientific journal called the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. His research on nonverbal expressiveness and personal charisma has been widely applied in health promotion, leadership training, medical education, and viral marketing. The winner of several teaching awards, Friedman writes his books in an easy-read style, with the earnest learner in mind. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, Friedman received his doctorate from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
July 27, 2024
One of the most fascinating books I have read on longevity! Rather than focus on diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and bio-markers, studied people for over eight decades.
In the 1900's, children who were primarily White, middle-class, and performed well in school were chosen for an extensive research project that would evaluate which factors contributed to a long life. The research continued into the late 1990's.
Some of the factors that were evaluated extensively were personality, lifestyle, work/career, purpose, social relationships, decision making, religion, education, death of parents, parents' divorce, alcohol and drug use, physical activity levels, marriage....and even breastfeeding and orgasms. Quite a list. Some things were relevant and many things were not relevant. Some common myths were debunked.
Some of the interesting findings:
* Individuals who are conscientious live longer. Being conscientious means caring about others, being focused and diligent at work, having a sense of purpose, thoughtful planning, and building long standing relationships.
* Being a moderate worrier helps with longevity. Moderate worriers do not choose reckless or dangerous pathways.
* Being the life of a party or being very social does not translate to longevity. Once again, it's because careless decisions and actions may lead to a shorter life.
* Long, strong relationships help you live longer.
* A new word for me, catastrophisizer....one who thinks a catastrophe lurks around every corner...does not help increase longevity.
* Education and friendships are big contributors to life experiences and life patterns which impact longevity.
* Death of a parent before a child turns 21 has no impact on longevity.
* Divorce of parents before a child is 21 reduces lifespan by about five years.
* Physical activity levels at age 12 are good indicators of physical activity levels as an adult.
* Exercise plans need to be individually tailored to each person's interests.
* Exercise should be something you enjoy.
* One big myth buster is that marriage does not always increase longevity. It may increase happiness, but that doesn't translate to longevity.
* Successful businessmen outlive unsuccessful businessmen by five years.
Highly recommend!
In the 1900's, children who were primarily White, middle-class, and performed well in school were chosen for an extensive research project that would evaluate which factors contributed to a long life. The research continued into the late 1990's.
Some of the factors that were evaluated extensively were personality, lifestyle, work/career, purpose, social relationships, decision making, religion, education, death of parents, parents' divorce, alcohol and drug use, physical activity levels, marriage....and even breastfeeding and orgasms. Quite a list. Some things were relevant and many things were not relevant. Some common myths were debunked.
Some of the interesting findings:
* Individuals who are conscientious live longer. Being conscientious means caring about others, being focused and diligent at work, having a sense of purpose, thoughtful planning, and building long standing relationships.
* Being a moderate worrier helps with longevity. Moderate worriers do not choose reckless or dangerous pathways.
* Being the life of a party or being very social does not translate to longevity. Once again, it's because careless decisions and actions may lead to a shorter life.
* Long, strong relationships help you live longer.
* A new word for me, catastrophisizer....one who thinks a catastrophe lurks around every corner...does not help increase longevity.
* Education and friendships are big contributors to life experiences and life patterns which impact longevity.
* Death of a parent before a child turns 21 has no impact on longevity.
* Divorce of parents before a child is 21 reduces lifespan by about five years.
* Physical activity levels at age 12 are good indicators of physical activity levels as an adult.
* Exercise plans need to be individually tailored to each person's interests.
* Exercise should be something you enjoy.
* One big myth buster is that marriage does not always increase longevity. It may increase happiness, but that doesn't translate to longevity.
* Successful businessmen outlive unsuccessful businessmen by five years.
Highly recommend!
April 27, 2011
The title and subtitle tell you what the book is about, and motivated me to read it. The biggest surprise to me was that none of the surprising discoveries was particularly surprising. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. The bottom line: be prudent and persistent, and stay active, to give yourself the best chance at a long and healthy life. There, I saved you a few hours; don't thank me, just send money.
December 22, 2024
Very readable. The methodology seems careful.
June 20, 2011
It does what it sets out to do very well, and gives good advice about how to live a long, full life which is entirely backed up with over 80 years of scientific data. I enjoyed it and learned something.
The book's long life secrets:
1. Live conscientiously, honestly, with integrity. They found that the best childhood predictor of longevity was conscientiousness (9). The prudent, dependable child lived the longest. The young adults who were persistent, responsible and detail oriented lived the longest (15). These were the key personality predicts of long life.
''We and others are uncovering this startling finding again and again -- conscientious folks are less likely to die from all sorts of causes. While we are not yet sure of the precise physiological reasons, it appears likely that conscientious and unconscientious people have different levels of certain chemicals in their brains, including serotonin. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter targeted by antidepressant drugs. Individuals with low levels of serotonin tend to be much more impulsive.... Having a conscientious personality leads you into healthier situations and relationships. In other words, it's not that conscientious people have better health habits and healthier brains, but also that they find their way to happier marriages, better friendships, and healthier work situations. That's right, conscientious people create healthy, long-life pathways for themselves'' (15-16).. In other words, acc to the study, its important to live honestly to live long.
2. Naturally optimistic, cheerful people take worse care of themselves. Pursuing happiness doesn't often lead to happiness and health. Being a worrier is mostly a good thing. ''Happiness was a by-product of their pathways to long life.... Living a certain lifestyle puts you in the paths to long life that simultaneously make you happy and fulfilled, but cheering yourself up with short-term pleasure will usually do nothing remarkable for your health. The same thngs that lead to happiness also lead to health, and the same things that boost health also lead to happiness. Doing the right things will improve your happiness and health'' (48).
3. People who speak and think in catastrophic terms, using words associated with death and violence, die sooner. Being 100% optimistic about everything isn't good, but catastrophic, disaster-oriented thinking is even worse. (Russians always talk in catastrophic terms, this makes me wonder....)
They also discovered that people who are conscientious AND have mental illness are a lot less likely to catastrophize and commit suicide than others with mental illness.
4. Doing sports in your 40s and 50s matters more to a long life than doing sports before. But at any age it is important to pick a physical activity you love, that fits in well with your life, that you don't have to force yourself to do and that you genuinely enjoy, and do several times per week.
5. If the husband is happy, everyone is healthy: Obviously, healthy marriages lead to a long life. But the thing that surprised me that they found is that in a marriage, it is the husband's happiness that determines how long both the wife and the husband will live. This idea definitely caught my attention, e.g.:
Quote: "Adding together both the husband's happiness and the wife's happiness predicted the later health of the person. But something unusual seemed to be happening when we looked over the numbers. We realized that the clearest view of the findings came when we looked not at the happiness of of the couple, nor at the happiness of the individual compared to the happiness of the spouse. Instead, the key was to look exclusively at the husband's happiness. The husband's marital happiness was the key to predicting health and well-being decades later, whether we were predicting the health of men or women. In other words, knowing that James was happy in 1940 let us successfully predict that James would be well decades later, but knowing that his wife, Irene, was also happily married did not add any useful information to understanding James's health. And knowing that a woman's husband was unhappy in 1940 let us predict that she would be unhealthy and unhappy as she aged. Her own happiness when she filled out the survey in 1940 mattered much less" (123-124).
6. Professionally successful people, who feel that they have chosen their careers and care about their field, tend to live longer.
Stressful careers (unless it's literally a battle field!) don't make life shorter.
The book's long life secrets:
1. Live conscientiously, honestly, with integrity. They found that the best childhood predictor of longevity was conscientiousness (9). The prudent, dependable child lived the longest. The young adults who were persistent, responsible and detail oriented lived the longest (15). These were the key personality predicts of long life.
''We and others are uncovering this startling finding again and again -- conscientious folks are less likely to die from all sorts of causes. While we are not yet sure of the precise physiological reasons, it appears likely that conscientious and unconscientious people have different levels of certain chemicals in their brains, including serotonin. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter targeted by antidepressant drugs. Individuals with low levels of serotonin tend to be much more impulsive.... Having a conscientious personality leads you into healthier situations and relationships. In other words, it's not that conscientious people have better health habits and healthier brains, but also that they find their way to happier marriages, better friendships, and healthier work situations. That's right, conscientious people create healthy, long-life pathways for themselves'' (15-16).. In other words, acc to the study, its important to live honestly to live long.
2. Naturally optimistic, cheerful people take worse care of themselves. Pursuing happiness doesn't often lead to happiness and health. Being a worrier is mostly a good thing. ''Happiness was a by-product of their pathways to long life.... Living a certain lifestyle puts you in the paths to long life that simultaneously make you happy and fulfilled, but cheering yourself up with short-term pleasure will usually do nothing remarkable for your health. The same thngs that lead to happiness also lead to health, and the same things that boost health also lead to happiness. Doing the right things will improve your happiness and health'' (48).
3. People who speak and think in catastrophic terms, using words associated with death and violence, die sooner. Being 100% optimistic about everything isn't good, but catastrophic, disaster-oriented thinking is even worse. (Russians always talk in catastrophic terms, this makes me wonder....)
They also discovered that people who are conscientious AND have mental illness are a lot less likely to catastrophize and commit suicide than others with mental illness.
4. Doing sports in your 40s and 50s matters more to a long life than doing sports before. But at any age it is important to pick a physical activity you love, that fits in well with your life, that you don't have to force yourself to do and that you genuinely enjoy, and do several times per week.
5. If the husband is happy, everyone is healthy: Obviously, healthy marriages lead to a long life. But the thing that surprised me that they found is that in a marriage, it is the husband's happiness that determines how long both the wife and the husband will live. This idea definitely caught my attention, e.g.:
Quote: "Adding together both the husband's happiness and the wife's happiness predicted the later health of the person. But something unusual seemed to be happening when we looked over the numbers. We realized that the clearest view of the findings came when we looked not at the happiness of of the couple, nor at the happiness of the individual compared to the happiness of the spouse. Instead, the key was to look exclusively at the husband's happiness. The husband's marital happiness was the key to predicting health and well-being decades later, whether we were predicting the health of men or women. In other words, knowing that James was happy in 1940 let us successfully predict that James would be well decades later, but knowing that his wife, Irene, was also happily married did not add any useful information to understanding James's health. And knowing that a woman's husband was unhappy in 1940 let us predict that she would be unhealthy and unhappy as she aged. Her own happiness when she filled out the survey in 1940 mattered much less" (123-124).
6. Professionally successful people, who feel that they have chosen their careers and care about their field, tend to live longer.
Stressful careers (unless it's literally a battle field!) don't make life shorter.
September 23, 2011
Do you think you have the secrets to longevity?
No, it's not because you ate all of your vegetables as a child or jogged 30 minutes each day for the past 20 years or live a stress-free life.
These are just a few of the myths dispelled in Drs. Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin's book, "The Longevity Project". Released in March of 2011, this book tells of the "surprising discoveries for health and long life from the landmark eight-decade study" by Stanford psychologist Dr. Terman.
What began with some 1,500 boys and girls born around 1910 selected by Dr. Terman in 1921 ended, or should I say resulted in detailing factors such as social connections, personality and marriage affect long-term health in The Longevity Project. Dr. Terman chose bright kids and tracked them throughout their lives. Over the years he collected information about the children and their families, how many books were in their houses, to their dispositions.
Dr Terman died in 1956 at the age of 80, but the project was carried on by others. Friedman and Martin picked up on his work in 1990, and used the decades of data gathered to better understand health and longevity.
Findings: cheerful and optimistic children are less likely to live long lives, because they are risk takers. Dr Martin explains that "by virtue of expecting good things to happen and feeling like nothing bad ever would, they predisposed themselves to be heavier drinkers, they tended to be smokers, and their hobbies were riskier."
Some degree of worrying is good.
People (and children) who display prudence, persistence, organized lives are strong, healthier and live longer. Yep, that means those of us somewhat compulsive and not entirely carefree).
The book is dotted with assessments used by Dr. Terman with his subjects, Termanites, over the years. So if you like that sort of Redbook, how do I rank questioning, you will enjoy these tests.
Are you smart, educated, pretty healthy and moderately content, then you will no doubt have read or will be reading this book and can "expect" to live a long life!
No, it's not because you ate all of your vegetables as a child or jogged 30 minutes each day for the past 20 years or live a stress-free life.
These are just a few of the myths dispelled in Drs. Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin's book, "The Longevity Project". Released in March of 2011, this book tells of the "surprising discoveries for health and long life from the landmark eight-decade study" by Stanford psychologist Dr. Terman.
What began with some 1,500 boys and girls born around 1910 selected by Dr. Terman in 1921 ended, or should I say resulted in detailing factors such as social connections, personality and marriage affect long-term health in The Longevity Project. Dr. Terman chose bright kids and tracked them throughout their lives. Over the years he collected information about the children and their families, how many books were in their houses, to their dispositions.
Dr Terman died in 1956 at the age of 80, but the project was carried on by others. Friedman and Martin picked up on his work in 1990, and used the decades of data gathered to better understand health and longevity.
Findings: cheerful and optimistic children are less likely to live long lives, because they are risk takers. Dr Martin explains that "by virtue of expecting good things to happen and feeling like nothing bad ever would, they predisposed themselves to be heavier drinkers, they tended to be smokers, and their hobbies were riskier."
Some degree of worrying is good.
People (and children) who display prudence, persistence, organized lives are strong, healthier and live longer. Yep, that means those of us somewhat compulsive and not entirely carefree).
The book is dotted with assessments used by Dr. Terman with his subjects, Termanites, over the years. So if you like that sort of Redbook, how do I rank questioning, you will enjoy these tests.
Are you smart, educated, pretty healthy and moderately content, then you will no doubt have read or will be reading this book and can "expect" to live a long life!
October 8, 2021
Longevity is based on personality. That’s probably true, but the traits and mechanisms are vague.
June 15, 2012
These authors picked up Dr. Terman's longitudinal study data (Terman was looking for the effects of IQ on success in life, among other things) and looked for the factors that surrounded those that lived the longest and best (i.e., by the person's own report, they had a good life). The people who were "prudent, persistent and well-organized" lived the longest and best. "They were accomplished and were satisfied with their lives, but they did not pursue happiness. They were happy and laughed because they were healthy and wealthy and wise."
My takeaway is the power of intentionality--building into your life the habits/routines/relationships that make it difficult NOT to be healthy and wealthy and wise. Set out to create the life you want most and enjoy all the fallout of those decisions. They found that besides being "prudent, persistent and well-organized" (i.e. able to make what you want most happen, conscientious about medical treatments, etc.), quality relationships mattered most. They suggest that women live longer and better because social networks are what women do naturally. Divorced men in particular did not fare well because losing their wife meant they also lost their friends. This was an interesting read.
My takeaway is the power of intentionality--building into your life the habits/routines/relationships that make it difficult NOT to be healthy and wealthy and wise. Set out to create the life you want most and enjoy all the fallout of those decisions. They found that besides being "prudent, persistent and well-organized" (i.e. able to make what you want most happen, conscientious about medical treatments, etc.), quality relationships mattered most. They suggest that women live longer and better because social networks are what women do naturally. Divorced men in particular did not fare well because losing their wife meant they also lost their friends. This was an interesting read.
September 2, 2019
Important information. I was not familiar with the Terman study and have not fact-checked this book. Nevertheless, the bizarro longevity project described here has real strengths when compared with many of the "studies show" articles we get in the news all the time. You can't ask 100-year-olds why they're old and expect to get good info from that. This project followed over a thousand people from childhood to death. The overall conclusion is that a healthy life pathway of traits like conscientiousness is what leads to longevity. This is not earth-shattering but it contradicts a headline I just saw this week about how happy optimism is what makes people live long. So I think the info could be useful to many people. The implications are that public health measures to enhance health-promoting conditions are more effective than treatments for after people are already sick, and that makes sense too.
The writing isn't great, but if I have to choose between good writing and good info, I'll take good info.
The writing isn't great, but if I have to choose between good writing and good info, I'll take good info.
April 19, 2012
This is a very interesting book about how long you might expect to live based on the choices you make regarding how you live your life. It is a scientific analysis of data collected over a lifetime of study by Dr. Terman, who began his research in the early 1900's, and is followed up by the extensive modern-day research by the authors. The book debunks many of the popular ideas in our society today, such as "eat your spinach." A lot of your success in achieving longevity will result from your conscientiousness in following a healthy life path, and avoiding hazardous behaviors. I would recommend this book to anyone who has curiosity in the realms of psychology and human behavior.
Later, John
Later, John
July 2, 2014
In a nutshell:
As far as I know, you can't find this information in any other general-audience-accessible work on health psychology. This book has really important information that I think, like the authors, everyone should know. So that's awesome. It is, however, pretty dry. It's very repetitive (to hit home the important parts?) and it was kind of a chore to get through. It also leaves a LOT of questions unanswered. Their amazing study, a looooooongitudinal correlational study, provides breadth but not depth. For instance, they discuss how conscientiousness leads to a longer life. They don't, however, offer mechanisms - beyond a conscientious person being more likely to take pills. To me, this is akin to saying "people with blue shirts live longer." Awesome! But what is it about blue shirts? Does the dye in the fabric make people healthier? Are healthy people more likely to buy blue shirts? Do blue shirts make the social environment friendlier? What is it?!?! Those are the types of questions that won't be answered - about conscientiousness, married life, social support, and all of the other extremely interesting correlates they bring up. One small point: I was irritated in the chapter on fitness that they really downplayed the importance of exercise. To my knowledge, most medical doctors encourage moderately rigorous exercise at least three times per week. This book, to the contrary, generally recommends gardening and bowling with other people. Their reasoning: people are too extreme about exercise and overdoing it can cause problems. I agree with their reasoning, but I don't think the vast majority of people need to worry about overdoing it. Other than the aforementioned, the book is good. Drs. Friedman and Martin are clearly cool folk, because they namedrop all sorts of people who have helped them for the last 20 years; most writers give a generic thank you and not the cool mini-biographies of collaborators that F&M gave. Classy move.
As far as I know, you can't find this information in any other general-audience-accessible work on health psychology. This book has really important information that I think, like the authors, everyone should know. So that's awesome. It is, however, pretty dry. It's very repetitive (to hit home the important parts?) and it was kind of a chore to get through. It also leaves a LOT of questions unanswered. Their amazing study, a looooooongitudinal correlational study, provides breadth but not depth. For instance, they discuss how conscientiousness leads to a longer life. They don't, however, offer mechanisms - beyond a conscientious person being more likely to take pills. To me, this is akin to saying "people with blue shirts live longer." Awesome! But what is it about blue shirts? Does the dye in the fabric make people healthier? Are healthy people more likely to buy blue shirts? Do blue shirts make the social environment friendlier? What is it?!?! Those are the types of questions that won't be answered - about conscientiousness, married life, social support, and all of the other extremely interesting correlates they bring up. One small point: I was irritated in the chapter on fitness that they really downplayed the importance of exercise. To my knowledge, most medical doctors encourage moderately rigorous exercise at least three times per week. This book, to the contrary, generally recommends gardening and bowling with other people. Their reasoning: people are too extreme about exercise and overdoing it can cause problems. I agree with their reasoning, but I don't think the vast majority of people need to worry about overdoing it. Other than the aforementioned, the book is good. Drs. Friedman and Martin are clearly cool folk, because they namedrop all sorts of people who have helped them for the last 20 years; most writers give a generic thank you and not the cool mini-biographies of collaborators that F&M gave. Classy move.
September 1, 2011
This was an interesting book that summarized an 80 year long study on longevity. Around the 1920's a doctor named Terman started studying about 1,500 elementary aged kids and interviewed them consistently throughout their lives. After he died, his colleagues continued the study and culminated the data into this book.
The results weren't too surprising to me overall, and it got a little repetitive at times. One of the most interesting points they made was that certain kinds of stress are actually good for you, and some of the longest lived participants were those working in high pressure, nationally important positions. Pushing yourself intellectually in school and/or work keeps you challenged and sharp and increases your odds for a long life. Going through a divorce is not good stress (and depending on gender can significantly change your longevity). Exercising is good for you too, but you don't have to run marathons or be an Olympian to be healthy. Since the majority of this study took place before things like trail running and triathalons were popular, it showed that the participants weren't necessarily doing more than consistently gardening or walking to the store and that was adequate activity for maintaining their health.
Overall it was interesting to read about but a little long winded for me.
The results weren't too surprising to me overall, and it got a little repetitive at times. One of the most interesting points they made was that certain kinds of stress are actually good for you, and some of the longest lived participants were those working in high pressure, nationally important positions. Pushing yourself intellectually in school and/or work keeps you challenged and sharp and increases your odds for a long life. Going through a divorce is not good stress (and depending on gender can significantly change your longevity). Exercising is good for you too, but you don't have to run marathons or be an Olympian to be healthy. Since the majority of this study took place before things like trail running and triathalons were popular, it showed that the participants weren't necessarily doing more than consistently gardening or walking to the store and that was adequate activity for maintaining their health.
Overall it was interesting to read about but a little long winded for me.
July 7, 2011
The Longevity Project is an interesting book reporting research on a wide range of factors that the authors studied for their effect on longevity. The authors write in a breezy entertaining style including lots of quizzes you can take to see how you rank for the studied attributes. The basis of the research is a group of bright children born in the early 1900s and followed until their deaths. There really are not lots of surprises, but there were a few that surprised me.
July 29, 2017
I thought the various study findings throughout the book were fascinating.
March 16, 2025
Read for school. As far as academic books go, it was a solid read!
March 24, 2013
The authors did a fantastic job of collating and parsing data from a study on aging that started in 1910. The lessons learned tend to defy modern wisdom in many respects, but seem more in line with what most of us observe every day.
I read the book as part of a course on Aging Policy. The book contains a number of interesting little quizzes which are fun and possibly insightful.
Would I recommend the book? Absolutely. It's a great way to get oneself re-grounded from all the hullabaloo we are taught today to assist us in living longer. Every day a person can go out on the internet and find a new study that purports this or that thing which is exactly the opposite of something told us just days before.
For example, three days ago I found a professional study that shows bacon is a health food. I love bacon. I'll buy into that study. Another article showed that leafy salad - the kind in prepackaged bags - is probably worse for a person than a cheeseburger because of bacteria on the leaves.
What's the truth? Would you be surprised to find all of that sort of thing is irrelevant? Would you be surprised to find that hours in the gym, extreme skill with watching ones weight and counting calories and running miles after grueling mile may, in fact, have no effect on how long you live?
Would it surprise you to find that conscientiousness, good relationships and personal fulfillment go a much longer way to determining how long you will live and how healthy you'll remain as you age?
Read the book. I think you'll find it somewhat long-winded, but ultimately fascinating.
I read the book as part of a course on Aging Policy. The book contains a number of interesting little quizzes which are fun and possibly insightful.
Would I recommend the book? Absolutely. It's a great way to get oneself re-grounded from all the hullabaloo we are taught today to assist us in living longer. Every day a person can go out on the internet and find a new study that purports this or that thing which is exactly the opposite of something told us just days before.
For example, three days ago I found a professional study that shows bacon is a health food. I love bacon. I'll buy into that study. Another article showed that leafy salad - the kind in prepackaged bags - is probably worse for a person than a cheeseburger because of bacteria on the leaves.
What's the truth? Would you be surprised to find all of that sort of thing is irrelevant? Would you be surprised to find that hours in the gym, extreme skill with watching ones weight and counting calories and running miles after grueling mile may, in fact, have no effect on how long you live?
Would it surprise you to find that conscientiousness, good relationships and personal fulfillment go a much longer way to determining how long you will live and how healthy you'll remain as you age?
Read the book. I think you'll find it somewhat long-winded, but ultimately fascinating.
April 16, 2011
The longevity project was a long-term sociological study that began in 1921. Fifteen-hundred children were selected for the study, which continued for 80 years! A massive amount of data was collected on each of the study participants, yielding a treasure trove of information to be gleaned and organized. Paying close attention to the difference between "correlation" and "causation", numerous scholars, psychologists, and medical researchers have found some extremely interesting patterns in the factors that affect longevity. What sort of surprises? Conscientious people tend to live longer than care-free people. Being married doesn't help women live longer--but it does help men. Being religious, per se, does not assist longevity, but having lots of social connections in a religious congregation does. Both women and men who have feminine attributes live longer than those with masculine attributes. The early death of a parent has no statistical effect on longevity; but having parents who divorce has a significant effect.
All of these interesting results, plus many more are described in this book. In addition, there are many self-quizzes that help you to gauge where you fall in each area. This isn't really a "self-help" type of book. But it does shed light on the manifold factors that affect longevity.
All of these interesting results, plus many more are described in this book. In addition, there are many self-quizzes that help you to gauge where you fall in each area. This isn't really a "self-help" type of book. But it does shed light on the manifold factors that affect longevity.
July 12, 2011
An amazing body of data went into these results--which are presented clearly, with lots of examples. Some of the findings are common sense, but more of them are surprises (at least to social science types like me). There are some answers that you can't get without waiting for decades, and these data were worth the wait. It's made me reconsider some parts of my life.
As someone who loves data, I would have liked more numbers. But for most readers, given the level of statistics involved, that would have been more of a distraction than a help.
My only significant critiques were a result of listening to the audible version rather than reading the print version, primarily that the personality or other scales given in the book are very difficult to use when read. And note to the narrator: The word is "causal," that is CAUSE-AL, not "casual" relationship.
As someone who loves data, I would have liked more numbers. But for most readers, given the level of statistics involved, that would have been more of a distraction than a help.
My only significant critiques were a result of listening to the audible version rather than reading the print version, primarily that the personality or other scales given in the book are very difficult to use when read. And note to the narrator: The word is "causal," that is CAUSE-AL, not "casual" relationship.
March 14, 2013
Stumbled on this book accidentally but found myself engrossed in it. I still think while the study went on extensively, that it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Predicting factors of longevity are good but no two bodies are the same and what one person thrives on may not be the same for another. Still a fascinating read.
March 14, 2015
I'm going to use this book with my Adult Development class next semester. Interesting set of studies on the psychological predictors of longevity, and just at the right reading level for undergrads. Plus now I don't feel so bad that I hate exercise; at least I'm highly conscientious.
November 4, 2021
Been meaning to get to this one for a long time. Maybe so long that it was over-hyped in my mind. Interesting information, though. More interesting than applicable. Definitely DO NOT recommend this as an audiobook - ebook or printed only!
February 15, 2022
În septembrie 1921, o şcolăriţă talentată pe nume Patricia şi John, un coleg precoce, au fost aleşi din clasele lor din San Francisco de către Lewis Terman, psiholog la Universi-tatea Stanford. Doctorul Terman căuta copii dotaţi şi le ceruse profesorilor să îi aleagă pe cei mai sclipitori elevi din clasele lor. Îl interesau mediile din care proveneau liderii inte-
lectuali şi îşi pusese întrebarea dacă se puteau identifica de timpuriu indicii privind un potenţial deosebit. Optzeci de ani mai târziu, atât Patricia, cât şi John erau încă în viaţă şi aveau vârsta de nouăzeci şi unu de ani.
Ei învinseseră dificultăţile existenţei şi avuseseră parte de o viaţă îndelungată şi sănătoasă. Care era secretul lor? În efor- tul de a afla acest lucru, am petrecut ulti- mii douăzeci de ani urmărind situaţia oamenilor incluşi în studiul doctorului Terman şi cercetând de ce unor oameni le merge bine la bătrâneţe, în vreme ce alţii se îmbolnăvesc şi mor prematur. Pe parcurs, am descoperit că multe recomandări obişnuite referitoare la păs- trarea sănătăţii sunt nepotrivite sau pur şi simplu greşite. Noi le-am înlocuit cu îndrumări mai precise pentru o viaţă mai îndelungată şi mai sănătoasă. Cei aproximativ 1 500 de băieţi şi fete cu o dotare superioară aleşi de doc- torul Terman erau născuţi în jurul anului 1910. Acum, aproape toţi ne-au părăsit. Am examinat când şi cum au murit şi le-am studiat cu atenţie vieţile. Deşi mulţi au murit înainte de a împlini şapte- zeci de ani, alţii au îmbătrânit frumos, sănătos şi au ajuns la vârsta senectuţii. În mod surprinzător, cei mai longevivi dintre ei nu au găsit secretul sănătăţii în broccoli, teste medicale, vitamine sau jogging. Ei au fost indivizi cu o anumită constelaţie de obiceiuri şi tipare de viaţă. Personalităţile lor, traiectoriile înregistrate în cariere şi în viaţa lor socială s-au dovedit extrem de relevante cu privire la sănătatea lor pe termen lung, deseori în maniere neaşteptate. Sugestiile obişnuite recomandate celor care doresc să îşi îmbunătăţească starea de sănătate („relaxeazăte�, „mănâncă legume�, „slăbeşte�, „căsătoreştete�) reprezintă soluţii de păstrare a vieţii pentru unii, dar nu se dovedesc nici efi- ciente, nici economice pentru mulţi alţii.
lectuali şi îşi pusese întrebarea dacă se puteau identifica de timpuriu indicii privind un potenţial deosebit. Optzeci de ani mai târziu, atât Patricia, cât şi John erau încă în viaţă şi aveau vârsta de nouăzeci şi unu de ani.
Ei învinseseră dificultăţile existenţei şi avuseseră parte de o viaţă îndelungată şi sănătoasă. Care era secretul lor? În efor- tul de a afla acest lucru, am petrecut ulti- mii douăzeci de ani urmărind situaţia oamenilor incluşi în studiul doctorului Terman şi cercetând de ce unor oameni le merge bine la bătrâneţe, în vreme ce alţii se îmbolnăvesc şi mor prematur. Pe parcurs, am descoperit că multe recomandări obişnuite referitoare la păs- trarea sănătăţii sunt nepotrivite sau pur şi simplu greşite. Noi le-am înlocuit cu îndrumări mai precise pentru o viaţă mai îndelungată şi mai sănătoasă. Cei aproximativ 1 500 de băieţi şi fete cu o dotare superioară aleşi de doc- torul Terman erau născuţi în jurul anului 1910. Acum, aproape toţi ne-au părăsit. Am examinat când şi cum au murit şi le-am studiat cu atenţie vieţile. Deşi mulţi au murit înainte de a împlini şapte- zeci de ani, alţii au îmbătrânit frumos, sănătos şi au ajuns la vârsta senectuţii. În mod surprinzător, cei mai longevivi dintre ei nu au găsit secretul sănătăţii în broccoli, teste medicale, vitamine sau jogging. Ei au fost indivizi cu o anumită constelaţie de obiceiuri şi tipare de viaţă. Personalităţile lor, traiectoriile înregistrate în cariere şi în viaţa lor socială s-au dovedit extrem de relevante cu privire la sănătatea lor pe termen lung, deseori în maniere neaşteptate. Sugestiile obişnuite recomandate celor care doresc să îşi îmbunătăţească starea de sănătate („relaxeazăte�, „mănâncă legume�, „slăbeşte�, „căsătoreştete�) reprezintă soluţii de păstrare a vieţii pentru unii, dar nu se dovedesc nici efi- ciente, nici economice pentru mulţi alţii.
August 23, 2021
Most extensive study on longevity. It started in 1921 and lasted the whole of the 20th century. Some interesting and counter intuitive findings from the study-
- Conscientious people live the longest. People who are prudent, responsible and organised tend to outlive the outgoing and happy people.
-Both, high Optimism and high neuroticism are risk factors. But low levels of optimism and neuroticism are positively related to longevity.
- Marriage, career, health and education are not the factors that lead to longevity. Conscientious people use to have successful marriage, career, good health and higher education.
- Sociability is not a factor to longevity.
- Happiness is not correlated to longevity. Healthy people are happy but happy people are not necessarily healthy.
- Educational excellence ~ bad handwriting.
- Breast feeding doesn't contribute to longevity.
- Getting into school at an earlier age than other classmates is detrimental. Age gap in school is bad.
- Parental divorce is the strongest social predictor of early death. Not the death of the parents but poor relationship between the parents is a risk factor for mortality.
- Longevity in descending order - steadily married men- steadily single men- remarried men - divorced men.
- Happy husband, and not happy wife, is good for the future health and wellbeing of both the husband and the wife.
- Job and personality mismatch doesn't necessarily bad for health. Stressful occupation increases the risk of death even if you have a passion for it.
- Religion is correlated to longevity only if you are actively engaged in religious community.
- Treating depression doesn't reduce death risk. Depression is a symptom not a cause.
- masculine men and women are at greater risk of mortality than feminine men and women.
- Conscientious people live the longest. People who are prudent, responsible and organised tend to outlive the outgoing and happy people.
-Both, high Optimism and high neuroticism are risk factors. But low levels of optimism and neuroticism are positively related to longevity.
- Marriage, career, health and education are not the factors that lead to longevity. Conscientious people use to have successful marriage, career, good health and higher education.
- Sociability is not a factor to longevity.
- Happiness is not correlated to longevity. Healthy people are happy but happy people are not necessarily healthy.
- Educational excellence ~ bad handwriting.
- Breast feeding doesn't contribute to longevity.
- Getting into school at an earlier age than other classmates is detrimental. Age gap in school is bad.
- Parental divorce is the strongest social predictor of early death. Not the death of the parents but poor relationship between the parents is a risk factor for mortality.
- Longevity in descending order - steadily married men- steadily single men- remarried men - divorced men.
- Happy husband, and not happy wife, is good for the future health and wellbeing of both the husband and the wife.
- Job and personality mismatch doesn't necessarily bad for health. Stressful occupation increases the risk of death even if you have a passion for it.
- Religion is correlated to longevity only if you are actively engaged in religious community.
- Treating depression doesn't reduce death risk. Depression is a symptom not a cause.
- masculine men and women are at greater risk of mortality than feminine men and women.
May 16, 2024
Very good book. Good emphasis on data, conscientiousness and social networks. Several self assessment would be good to complete.
Very good book. Good emphasis on data, conscientiousness and social networks. Several self assessment would be good to complete.
The Longevity Project is a long-term study that aimed to identify the factors contributing to a long and healthy life.
Key findings:
Personality Traits and Conscientiousness:
Being conscientious, thorough, and having a sense of duty are strong predictors of longevity. Conscientious children and adults who remained diligent, organized, and responsible tended to live longer lives. Developing resilience and life satisfaction in early adulthood also contributed to better health and longevity.
Marriage and Social Connections:
-For men, staying married led to increased lifespan compared to those who remained single or divorced. However, for women, being married only improved longevity if it was a truly satisfying marriage that allowed them to thrive.
- Strong social connections and having good friends were more important for longevity than religious faith alone. The benefits of religion came more from the social aspects rather than just individual practice.
Other Factors:
While genetics, diet, and exercise play a role, the study found psychological attitudes and social circumstances had a surprisingly large impact on lifespan and healthspan. Having a sense of purpose, conscientiousness, a strong marriage (for men), and robust social ties emerged as key predictors of longevity.
In summary, The Longevity Project highlights how personality traits like conscientiousness, resilience, life satisfaction, strong marriages (for men), and quality social connections can significantly influence one's lifespan and overall well-being into old age.
Very good book. Good emphasis on data, conscientiousness and social networks. Several self assessment would be good to complete.
The Longevity Project is a long-term study that aimed to identify the factors contributing to a long and healthy life.
Key findings:
Personality Traits and Conscientiousness:
Being conscientious, thorough, and having a sense of duty are strong predictors of longevity. Conscientious children and adults who remained diligent, organized, and responsible tended to live longer lives. Developing resilience and life satisfaction in early adulthood also contributed to better health and longevity.
Marriage and Social Connections:
-For men, staying married led to increased lifespan compared to those who remained single or divorced. However, for women, being married only improved longevity if it was a truly satisfying marriage that allowed them to thrive.
- Strong social connections and having good friends were more important for longevity than religious faith alone. The benefits of religion came more from the social aspects rather than just individual practice.
Other Factors:
While genetics, diet, and exercise play a role, the study found psychological attitudes and social circumstances had a surprisingly large impact on lifespan and healthspan. Having a sense of purpose, conscientiousness, a strong marriage (for men), and robust social ties emerged as key predictors of longevity.
In summary, The Longevity Project highlights how personality traits like conscientiousness, resilience, life satisfaction, strong marriages (for men), and quality social connections can significantly influence one's lifespan and overall well-being into old age.
May 11, 2017
What I found the most interesting about this book was the debunking of commonly held myths, or clarifying that while something may be “good for you� it might not have a significant impact on your longevity.
The thing however that niggles at me with this and all longevity studies is that you can’t discount the times the people lived in. Don’t tell me that comparing someone’s life in the 40s with a similarly led life in the 90s won’t impact the results! How can you draw definite conclusions when within the study there exists a set of circumstances that were the norm 100 years ago but don’t exist at all today? For example: accepting that homosexuality is not a disease, understanding the impacts of PTSD and even simply as a society being aware if it’s existence. The Women’s Movement and Civil Rights Movement and their resulting impacts on peoples� opportunities in life�
The book does mention that some of the core findings are being confirmed thanks to newer studies, so to me that makes the results more reliable.
The thing however that niggles at me with this and all longevity studies is that you can’t discount the times the people lived in. Don’t tell me that comparing someone’s life in the 40s with a similarly led life in the 90s won’t impact the results! How can you draw definite conclusions when within the study there exists a set of circumstances that were the norm 100 years ago but don’t exist at all today? For example: accepting that homosexuality is not a disease, understanding the impacts of PTSD and even simply as a society being aware if it’s existence. The Women’s Movement and Civil Rights Movement and their resulting impacts on peoples� opportunities in life�
The book does mention that some of the core findings are being confirmed thanks to newer studies, so to me that makes the results more reliable.
January 22, 2018
Interesting read about a pair of scientists that take a focused look at data from a decades-long study that followed 1500 people over 8 decades. There were the usual inherent problems that crop up so frequently in research- biases of the researchers and a narrow category of research subjects- in this case, white, middle class kids. Although to his credit- the original researcher, Dr. Terman, did include girls along with the boys. Nevertheless, there were some interesting conclusions drawn that were quite different from the usual health advice.
September 10, 2017
Are you conscientious (bit of a safety hugger?) Do you be good at getting along with your sig other? Ding! Ding! Ding!
That -- not diet, not CrossSkwat, and definitely not being a social butterfly -- predicts a longer life. Yep, I'm here to say that the folk myth of the mondo social network being "good for your health" is faaaalse. Any observation of your supersocial friends coulda told you the same. But supportive loved ones? G O LD
That -- not diet, not CrossSkwat, and definitely not being a social butterfly -- predicts a longer life. Yep, I'm here to say that the folk myth of the mondo social network being "good for your health" is faaaalse. Any observation of your supersocial friends coulda told you the same. But supportive loved ones? G O LD
August 5, 2018
In the minutiae of daily living, it can be so impossible and painful to take the long view. I toe-dipped into this book with a fair bit of reluctance because, come on, life is already so serious, surely I don't need yet another dose of hard truth? Well I thank my unwilling self that I did, because this study sheds so much light and wisdom on what living and life can really mean. The most surprising finding for me? That being happy doesn't lead to longer life. Boom.
November 10, 2018
This is a Psychology text book, not so much a 'pop science' read. Nonetheless, it is quite involving. Some of the conclusions stay with you - how marriage actually helps you live longer, and quat kind of stress will add years to your life.
Not giving too much away, this incredible correlational study tracks people from birth to death, and figures out what factors lead to a long and healthy life. The scope of the study is quite amazing.
Not giving too much away, this incredible correlational study tracks people from birth to death, and figures out what factors lead to a long and healthy life. The scope of the study is quite amazing.
June 19, 2021
You learn a lot from following people for decades and measuring everything they do. Debunks a lot of things we think make us live long. But reinforces a lot of common wisdom. Being conscientious. Staying safe. Having good relationships. Everything else, well, kind of depends. The focus is longevity, though, not happiness or fulfillment or quality of life. So while it’s helpful overall, it leaves a lot more questions to be answered.
August 18, 2017
It was very interesting read, for sure it was one of those books that will influence my life. I gave it only 4 not 5 stars, because some people may feel that it was not suprising at all. So the subtitle may be false, but I think that it's very easy to say "it was obvious" after the fact was discovered.
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