--- title: How to Live a Long Happy Life — 8 Insights Backed by Research description: One of the reasons young people do such risky things is because they think happiness declines with age so they live it up. They’re only... canonical: https://time.com/3626541/live-long-happy-life/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-10T21:28:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:04:34.337Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How to Live a Long Happy Life — 8 Insights Backed by Research og:description: One of the reasons young people do such risky things is because they think happiness declines with age so they live it up. They’re only... og:url: https://time.com/3626541/live-long-happy-life/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21e31e4b9dff4039/69876dd3e53abaccd34d671d/smile-cereal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2658 og:image:height: 1495 og:image:alt: Smiling cereal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Live a Long Happy Life — 8 Insights Backed by Research twitter:description: One of the reasons young people do such risky things is because they think happiness declines with age so they live it up. They’re only... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt21e31e4b9dff4039/69876dd3e53abaccd34d671d/smile-cereal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Live a Long Happy Life — 8 Insights Backed by Research > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 10, 2014 9:28 PM UTC  Smiling cereal Smiling cereal Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Dec 10, 2014 9:28 PM UTC * One of the reasons young people do such risky things is because [they think happiness declines with age so they live it up](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-young-people-do-such-risky-things). They’re only half right: you are happiest at [ages 26 and 83](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-we-happiest). There’s a lot of [evidence](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-are-older-people-happier) that we’re [happier when we’re older](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/will-we-be-happier-when-were-older). What’s interesting is the meaning of happiness does change as we age: [young people associate happiness with excitement. Older people connect happiness with peacefulness](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-meaning-of-happiness-change-as-we-ag-0). The [mid-life crisis](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-really-such-thing-as-a-mid-life-cris) may be a [myth](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-you-have-to-do-to-avoid-a-mid-life-cr). Life does seem to [speed up](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/if-life-speeds-up-when-you-get-older-does-tha) as you get older. The bands and songs people remember most fondly in middle age are [the ones they came to love between the ages of 16 and 21](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-music-will-we-probably-enjoy-for-the-res). * Youthful success may mean [you won’t live as long.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-youthful-success-mean-you-wont-live-as-l) Happy people [live longer](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-happier-people-live-longer). How you feel right now is a [half decent way to determine](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-how-you-feel-right-now-tell-you-how-long) whether you’ll die in the next 30 years. Genetics may [be the key](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-it-lifestyle-or-genetics-that-will-get-you) to living past 100\. The month of your birth can [predict how long you live](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-month-of-your-birth-affect-how-long). [Eating right](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-way-of-eating-that-has-been-shown) can increase lifespan. * We pick mates [the same way when we’re old as when we’re young](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-the-elderly-pick-mates-differently-than-yo). Women are much more likely to have affairs when they’re young. For men the likelihood [increases with age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/at-what-ages-are-men-and-women-most-likely-to). Sexual satisfaction is associated with [youth](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-factors-are-associated-with-sexual-satis). * As we age, [some of our decision-making skills decline while others can improve](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-our-decision-making-abilities-decline-with). Yes, [you will be wiser](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-older-people-really-wiser) when you’re older. You’ll [love your family more](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-we-love-our-families-more-as-we-age) when you’re older. You get worse at [lying and recognizing lies](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-we-get-better-at-lying-as-we-age) as you age but you’ll be [more forgiving](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/whos-more-forgiving-young-people-or-old-peopl). Fundamental [personality traits](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-much-do-our-personalities-change-over-tim) and [self-esteem](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-self-esteem-increase-or-decrease-as-we-a) don’t change much as we age but people show increased [self-confidence, warmth, self-control, and emotional stability with age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-will-your-personality-change-as-you-age). Conservative politics seem to [benefit the elderly](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-conservative-beliefs-benefit-the-elderly) and your [religious beliefs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-your-religion-determine-how-much-your-br) can affect how much your brain atrophies when you age. * People who look young for their age [live longer.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/people-who-look-young-for-their-age-live-long) Making an effort to [look young](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-looking-young-help-you-stay-young) and [act young](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-living-like-youre-young-prevent-aging) can help you stay young. Your [face will show more signs of age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-factors-are-most-responsible-for-the-agi) if you smoke, get too much sun or are really thin — get a [massage](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-back-massage-improve-forehead-wrinkles) to fight back. Older individuals with [more positive self-perceptions](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/wsjcom-attitudes-toward-aging-can-affect-how) of aging… [lived 7.5 years longer](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-your-attitude-on-one-thing-add-years-to-y) than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging. * To keep your brain strong in the later years [try learning another language](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-keep-your-mind-strong-as-you-age) or [challenging your beliefs](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-to-keep-an-aging-brain-sharp). An active imagination [helps memory and everyday functioning](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-an-active-imagination-one-of-the-keys-to-a) for elderly people. Whatever you do, [don’t retire](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-retirement-lethal). The longest living people around the world [all place a strong emphasis on family and social engagement](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-the-longest-living-people-have-in-com). * There are [a lot of little things](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-little-things-can-help-you-live-to-100) that can help you live longer. [Studying people from birth to old age](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-do-we-learn-when-we-study-people-from-bi) has taught us a lot.[Connecting with and helping others is more important](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/have-we-got-it-all-wrong-about-what-it-takes) than obsessing over a rigorous exercise program. And there are things you can do [to live a life without regret](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-live-life-without-regret). * “What allows people to work, and love, as they grow old? By the time the Grant Study men had entered retirement, [Vaillant, who had then been following them for a quarter century, had identified seven major factors that predict healthy aging, both physically and psychologically. Employing mature adaptations was one. The others were education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-formula-for-a-good-life)” But when asked to explain the single most important lesson he replied “[the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.”](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-formula-for-a-good-life) **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-does-it-take-to-live-a-long-happy-life/)**_._** **Join over 145,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) _Read next:_ [_How Do We Find Meaning in Life?_](http://time.com/3584646/find-meaning-in-life/?xid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3626541/live-long-happy-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3626541/live-long-happy-life/"},"headline":"How to Live a Long Happy Life — 8 Insights Backed by Research","datePublished":"2014-12-10T21:28:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:04:34.337Z","description":"One of the reasons young people do such risky things is because they think happiness declines with age so they live it up. 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