Harvard study reveals 7 daily habits for happiness and good health

While most people want to lead happier and healthier lives, not many are able to do so. But is there a secret to longevity and happiness? Well, a Harvard study, which was done for over 85 years, seems to have decoded certain daily habits that can help one be happier in life. The research included the Grant Study, which was based on the results of “268 Harvard graduates from the classes of 1939 [to] 1944,” for more than 80 years, as per reports.

“The Grant study found that there are seven habits that result in individuals being happy and well in older age rather than ending up sad and sick,” a happiness course by Harvard reads. Here we list what these practices are:

It is well known that smoking has several health risks and can reduce one's lifespan. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​
(CDC) notes that smoking causes various diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke, COPD, type 2 diabetes, and immune issues like rheumatoid arthritis.

No wonder then, not smoking or quitting it can improve your health and overall life.

Avoiding alcohol abuse can affect your life for in a good way by protecting both your physical and mental health. When you drink responsibly or avoid drinking all together, you sleep better, your energy levels improve, and your immune system becomes stronger. Talking about your emotions, avoiding alcohol consumption helps balance your mood, lowers anxiety, and it also improves over focus and decision-making.

Having a healthy lifestyle incudes eating nutritious food and exercising regularly. This helps one be healthy and fit, and lead more fulfilling lives. Maintaining a healthy body weight not only helps you stay healthy but also improves your overall quality of life and happiness in return. “Aging happy and well, instead of sad and sick, is at least under some personal control,” Dr. George E. Vaillant, who is an ex-director and one of the researchers of the study, told the Harvard Gazette in 2001, as per a CNBC report.

Daily exercise, even for 30 minutes of brisk walking, can improve your overall mood and make you feel happier as exercising helps one release endorphins-- the feel good hormones, various studies suggest. A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that after exercising regularly for four weeks, participants reports higher happiness and life satisfaction as compared to (when they didn't) their baseline.

“This means that you have good conflict-resolution practices,” the Harvard course explained, read a CNBC report. While struggles and fights are common in any relationship, how one deals with them in their everyday life has a huge impact on their overall mood and happiness. And so, having a healthy coping style in conflicts can help one have better inter-personal relationships with others and live happily too.

It is often said that your attitude determines your altitude in life, and rightly so. Having a growth mindset helps you constantly work on yourself and improve as a person. This in turn makes you lead a better and happier life. “Invest in education or the practices of lifelong learning,” the Harvard course added talking about the habits that can help one be happier in life, as per the CNBC report.

The Harvard study which was conducted for more than 85 years also surprisingly found out that our relationships have a huge impact in our health and happiness in life, and rightly so. So, invest in creating deep and loving relationships with your partner, friends and family and nurture these bonds by spending quality time with them. After all, when the going gets tough, it is these people who love and support you, thus adding joy to your life.

“With hard work and/or therapy, our relationships with our spouses and our coping styles can be changed for the better. A successful old age may lie not so much in our stars and genes as in ourselves,” Vaillant added, reported CNBC.