Researchers at the University of California, Riverside challenge several common beliefs about what leads to a long life. A detailed, long-term study examining personality and life outcomes shows that many widely repeated pieces of advice—like “avoid stress,” “be relentlessly cheerful,” or “don’t work too hard”—do not reliably predict greater longevity.
The research team followed participants for decades, tracing data back to an original cohort of bright children first studied in 1921. By examining childhood personality measures, social relationships, work habits and life events over many decades, the investigators identified patterns that matter most for long-term health and survival.
Keys to Long Life
The UC Riverside study, drawing on material from what became known as The Longevity Project, uncovered some unexpected findings about personality, relationships and lifestyle. Rather than promoting a single simple rule for a long life, the results highlight long-term behaviors and patterns that consistently influence health outcomes.
One surprising result: being excessively cheerful as a child did not predict a longer life. In fact, participants described as the most outgoing and humorous tended, on average, to live shorter lives than their more serious, cautious peers. The researchers suggest a plausible reason: optimistic, easygoing individuals may take more health risks and be less vigilant about behaviors that protect long-term health. By contrast, traits such as prudence, persistence and conscientiousness were associated with healthier, longer lives.
Other major findings include:
- Marriage and gender differences: Long-term marriage was linked to better longevity for men. Steadily married men were more likely to reach age 70 and beyond, whereas divorced men were less likely to do so. For women, divorce without remarriage carried much less of a penalty; women who divorced and did not remarry tended to live nearly as long as those who stayed married.
- Work engagement: Contrary to the notion that “don’t work too hard,” those who were deeply involved and committed to their work generally lived longer than more laid-back coworkers. Continual productivity and engagement at work correlated with improved longevity.
- Childhood schooling and play: Starting formal education very early—being in first grade before age six—showed links to earlier mortality. Adequate playtime and the ability to relate well with classmates during childhood appear important for long-term well-being.
- Pets and social ties: While pets can improve daily well-being, pet ownership by itself did not predict longer life. The most consistent social benefit for longevity came from being involved with and helping others, not merely feeling loved or emotionally supported.
- Combat and trauma: Combat veterans were less likely to live long lives, not solely because of the immediate stress of war but often due to unhealthy patterns that followed. Veterans who found meaning in traumatic experiences and regained a sense of security were more likely to return to healthier trajectories.
The study’s broader lesson is that long-lived people tend to maintain steady, prudent habits and sustained social involvement over time. Happiness and health often appear together because they share roots in stable, responsible behaviors—not because cheerfulness alone directly causes longevity.
The project began when researchers Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin reexamined records from a longitudinal study initiated by psychologist Louis Terman. Over more than twenty years, the team and many students examined thousands of pages of records—teacher and parent personality ratings, family histories, education, military service, job success and other details—to understand how childhood traits influence lifespan decades later.
Friedman and Martin emphasize that it is never too late to adopt healthier patterns. Rather than getting lost in minor details or short-term trends, they recommend identifying long-term healthy and unhealthy habits and taking steady, incremental steps to reinforce the beneficial behaviors. Small, repeated changes—persistence and prudence—add up over the years and help create the kind of life patterns associated with greater longevity.
Notes about this research
Contact: Bettye Miller – University of California at Riverside
Image source: Live Long and Prosper, adapted from an image by Darthseth6 at Wikimedia Commons.
