For nearly nine decades, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has explored a question that concerns almost everyone: What helps people live longer, healthier, and happier lives? Its findings do not reduce longevity to happiness alone, nor do they suggest that relationships can replace medical care, nutrition, exercise, or other proven health practices. Instead, they point to a powerful and often underestimated factor: the quality of our close relationships. In longevity science, some of which I am involved in, we spend enormous amounts of time searching for measurable answers. We monitor glucose, count steps, take supplements, refine skincare routines, and debate the ideal balance of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. These choices may matter. Yet the Harvard study suggests that one essential ingredient of a long and healthy life may be far more familiar: spending time with people we trust, value, and feel connected to. A Remarkable Study of Human Lives When I learned about the Harvard Study of Adult Development, I was impressed not by their conclusions, but by design of the study itself, one lasting for close to 100 years. The study began in 1938 with 724 young men from two very different backgrounds. One group consisted of Harvard undergraduates; the other included boys growing up in some of Boston’s most disadvantaged neighbor- hoods. Over the decades, researchers followed participants’ phys- ical health, emotional lives, careers, marriages, disappointments, and successes. The study later expanded to include spouses and descendants. Across more than eight decades of observation, one pattern remained striking: people with warmer, more dependable relationships tended to be healthier and happier as they aged. The lesson is not that popularity guarantees longevity. Hundreds of acquaintances or social-media followers are not the same as feeling emotionally supported. What appears to matter most is whether we have people in our lives whom we can trust, speak honestly with, and turn to during difficult moments. Biological Basis of Social Connection From a longevity-medicine perspective, this finding makes bio- logical sense. Longevity medicine examines the interconnected contributors to chronic illness rather than viewing diabetes, hypertension, cancer, or cognitive decline as completely isolated events. Relationships can influence several of the systems involved in health and disease. 近九十年来，哈佛成人发展研究一直在探索一个几乎人人关心的问 题：究竟是什么，能让人活得更长久、更健康，也更幸福？ 这项研究的结论，并不是将长寿简单归因于“快乐”，也不是认为亲密 关系可以取代医学治疗、营养管理、运动习惯，或其他经过验证的健 康方式。相反，它让我们看见了一个强大却常被低估的因素：亲密关 系的质量。 在长寿科学领域——我本人也参与其中的一部分研究——我们花费 大量时间寻找可以量化的答案。我们监测血糖，记录步数，服用补充 剂，优化护肤流程，也不断讨论蛋白质、碳水化合物与健康脂肪之间 的理想比例。这些选择当然可能重要。然而，哈佛的这项研究提醒我 们，支撑漫长而健康人生的一个关键要素，或许远比我们想象中更加 熟悉：与那些我们信任、珍视，并真正感到连接的人共度时光。 一项关于寿命的非凡研究 当我第一次了解到哈佛成人发展研究时，真正让我印象深刻的，并不 是它的结论，而是这项研究本身的设计——它几乎持续了一个世纪。 研究始于 1938 年，最初追踪 724 名年轻男性，他们来自两个截然不 同的群体：一组是哈佛大学本科生，另一组则是成长于波士顿贫困 社区的男孩。在接下来的数十年里，研究人员持续记录他们的身体健 康、情绪状态、职业轨迹、婚姻关系、人生挫折与成就。后来，研究范围 又进一步扩展至他们的配偶与后代。 在超过八十年的观察中，一个规律始终格外清晰：拥有更温暖、更可 靠关系的人，随着年龄增长，往往更健康，也更快乐。 这并不意味着“受欢迎”就等于长寿。数百个熟人，或社交媒体上的关 注者，并不等同于真正的情感支持。真正重要的，是我们的生命中是 否有这样一些人：可以信任，可以坦诚相对，也可以在艰难时刻依靠。 社会连接背后的生物学逻辑 从长寿医学的角度来看，这一发现具有充分的生物学依据。长寿医学 关注的是慢性疾病背后相互交织的多重因素，而不是将糖尿病、高血 压、癌症或认知衰退视为彼此孤立的事件。人际关系，正能够影响与 健康和疾病相关的多个系统。 108 BALLIET + WANG LUXURY LIVING
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