The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is Habits that lead to happiness in retirement. 

According to the article that was the basis for this week’s theme: “In 1938, researchers at Harvard Medical School lit upon a visionary idea: They would sign up a bunch of men then studying at Harvard and follow them from youth to adulthood. Every year or two, researchers asked the participants about their lifestyles, habits, relationships, work, and happiness. The study has since expanded to include people beyond men who went to Harvard, and its results have been updated regularly for more than 80 years. Those results are a treasure trove…You look at how people lived, loved, and worked in their 20s and 30s, and then you can see how their life turned out over the following decades. And from this crystal ball of happiness, you can learn how to invest in your own future well-being.As the participants in the Harvard Study of Adult Development have aged, researchers have categorized them with respect to happiness and health. There is a lot of variation in the population, but two distinct groups emerge at the extremes. The best off are the “happy-well,” who enjoy good physical health as well as good mental health and high life satisfaction. On the other end of the spectrum are the “sad-sick,” who are below average in physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction.”

So today, I want to focus on 2 health habits that emerge from the data on this study: 

1. Don’t smoke & 
2. Watch your drinking

These recommendations are nothing new. The research pointing to smoking and excessive drinking as a major source of health problems is vast and quite conclusive. 

If you’re a smoker, you’ve probably already tried to quit many, many times. And if you’re not a smoker, you’re no doubt happy that you don’t have to battle that addiction.

Alcohol however, is more insidious, because its negative effects aren’t as obvious. One of the most powerful predictors of people who end up in the sad-sick category was problem drinking. And unlike the typical stereotype of an alcoholic, the reality is that a lot of successful and hard-working people are highly functioning alcoholics. Some research indicates that many of the personality traits that predict success, are also strong predictors of addiction. 

The bottom line is that if you don’t quit smoking and don’t stop problem-drinking, you’re much more likely to be in the miserable, sad-sick category of retirees. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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