Aging Well

Think diet and exercise are the keys to a long, healthy life?
Think again.

What can you do to increase the likelihood of living a happy, healthy, fulfilling life into your sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond?

For more than five decades Harvard Medical School has studied the basic elements of adult human development, analyzing the health and happiness of hundreds of individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. In Aging Well, George E. Vaillant, M.D., the director of the study, draws on the data gathered and reveals for the first time why some people turn out to be more resilient than others. His surprising conclusion is that individual lifestyle choices play a greater role than genetics, wealth, race, or other factors in determining how happy people are in later life.

Among the topics Dr. Vaillant explores:

• · The importance of marriage and the impact of divorce
• · The role of play and creative activity
• · The effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other mood elevators
• · The benefits of forming new friendships and new social networks
• · The importance of intellectual curiosity and lifelong learning

With its step-by-step advice and its revelation of scientific secrets, this inspiring book can help you — whether you are thirty-five or sixty-five — ensure that your golden years are truly golden.