The Dudeism Forum

Bad news for us highly relaxed types from the science dudes.

Happy-go-lucky types die younger, study finds

March 11, 2011
Courtesy of UC Riverside
and World Science staff

Cheer up. Stop wor?ry?ing. Don?t work so hard. That may be some of the worst ad?vice you could give some?one who in?tends to live a long life, a new study sug?gests.

?It?s sur?pris?ing just how of?ten com?mon as?sump?tions ? by both sci?en?tists and the me?dia ? are wrong,? said psy?chol?o?gist How?ard S. Fried?man of the Uni?vers?ity of Cal?i?for?nia, who led the 20-year stu?dy. He and co-re?search?ers pub?lished the find?ings in a book en?ti?tled The Longe?vity Proj?ect: Sur?pris?ing Dis?cov?er?ies for Health and Long Life from the Land?mark Eight-Decade Study (Hud?son Street Press, March 2011).

?Probably our most amaz?ing find?ing was that per?son?al?ity char?ac?ter?is?tics and so?cial rela?t?ions from child?hood can pre?dict one?s risk of dy?ing dec?ades lat?er,? Fried?man said.

The team an?a?lyzed da?ta gath?ered by the late psy?chol?o?gist Lou?is Ter?man of Stan?ford Uni?vers?ity in Cal?i?for?nia and sub?se?quent re?search?ers on more than 1,500 bright chil?dren who were about 10 years old when they were first stud?ied in 1921. The Longe?vity Proj?ect, as the study be?came known, fol?lowed the chil?dren through their lives, col?lect?ing in?forma?t?ion that in?clud?ed family his?to?ries and rela?t?ion?ships, teach?er and par?ent rat?ings of per?son?al?ity, hob?bies, pet own?er?ship, job suc?cess, educa?t?ion lev?els, mil?i?tary serv?ice and more.

?We came to a new un?der?stand?ing about hap?pi?ness and health,? said psy?chol?o?gist Les?lie R. Mar?tin, a study col?la?bo?ra?tor who is now at La Si?er?ra Uni?vers?ity in Riv?er?side, Ca?lif. ?One of the find?ings that really as?tounds peo?ple, in?clud?ing us, is that the Longe?vity Proj?ect par?ti?ci?pants who were the most cheer?ful and had the best sense of hu?mor as kids lived shorter lives, on av?er?age, than those who were less cheer?ful and jok?ing. It was the most pru?dent and per?sist?ent in?di?vid?u?als who stayed health?i?est and lived the longest.?

The cheer?ful, hap?py-go-lucky kids tended to take more risks with their health across the years, Fried?man not?ed. While an op?ti?mis?tic ap?proach can be help?ful in a cri?sis, ?we found that as a gen?er?al life-orienta?t?ion, too much of a sense that ?ev?ery?thing will be just fine? can be dan?ger?ous be?cause it can lead one to be care?less about things that are im?por?tant to health and long life. Pru?dence and per?sis?tence, how?ev?er, led to a lot of im?por?tant ben?e?fits for many years. It turns out that hap?pi?ness is not a root cause of good health. In?stead, hap?pi?ness and health go to?geth?er be?cause they have com?mon roots.?

There's more depressing shit but the moderator dude won't let me post a link so you'll have to find er yourselfs.  I say it's workist propaganda for wage slavery but I'm too spaced to think up a rant.

Quote from: fyreflye on March 14, 2011, 10:03:54 PM
Bad news for us highly relaxed types from the science dudes.

Happy-go-lucky types die younger, study finds

March 11, 2011
Courtesy of UC Riverside
and World Science staff

Cheer up. Stop worrying. Dont work so hard. That may be some of the worst advice you could give someone who intends to live a long life, a new study suggests.

Its surprising just how often common assumptions  by both scientists and the media  are wrong, said psychologist Howard S. Friedman of the University of California, who led the 20-year study. He and co-researchers published the findings in a book entitled The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study (Hudson Street Press, March 2011).

Probably our most amazing finding was that personality characteristics and social relations from childhood can predict ones risk of dying decades later, Friedman said.

The team analyzed data gathered by the late psychologist Louis Terman of Stanford University in California and subsequent researchers on more than 1,500 bright children who were about 10 years old when they were first studied in 1921. The Longevity Project, as the study became known, followed the children through their lives, collecting information that included family histories and relationships, teacher and parent ratings of personality, hobbies, pet ownership, job success, education levels, military service and more.

We came to a new understanding about happiness and health, said psychologist Leslie R. Martin, a study collaborator who is now at La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif. One of the findings that really astounds people, including us, is that the Longevity Project participants who were the most cheerful and had the best sense of humor as kids lived shorter lives, on average, than those who were less cheerful and joking. It was the most prudent and persistent individuals who stayed healthiest and lived the longest.

The cheerful, happy-go-lucky kids tended to take more risks with their health across the years, Friedman noted. While an optimistic approach can be helpful in a crisis, we found that as a general life-orientation, too much of a sense that everything will be just fine can be dangerous because it can lead one to be careless about things that are important to health and long life. Prudence and persistence, however, led to a lot of important benefits for many years. It turns out that happiness is not a root cause of good health. Instead, happiness and health go together because they have common roots.

Sorry had to clean that up so I can read it.

Common problem with posting to the site from other sources the collation (in the database running the site) of the text is different in some way (In my case UK keyboard to US) but any character the  software doesn't understand it replaces with the default "?".

Quote from: fyreflye on March 14, 2011, 10:03:54 PM
There's more depressing shit but the moderator dude won't let me post a link so you'll have to find er yourselfs.  I say it's workist propaganda for wage slavery but I'm too spaced to think up a rant.

There was a lot of problem with spammers and spam bots so it was decided to limit link posting until the user had done a few posts to ensure they were genuine people not automated systems. Its not personal, and seems to have worked really well. I think at one time the forum was on a list spammers were passing round as an easy hit, it was getting really bad.

bad news for the author, too much too read.

Thanks for cleaning that up, meekon 5; the problem didn't show up in the Preview.  I can change quotes to any character encoding that works if you'll let me know which one does.

fyreflye it never shows up until you post or save. I cheat and dont use apostrophes, the spell checker then prompts (underlines in red) so I choose the prompted spelling then pinch the apostrophe so it's the one the forum likes.

The database collation can only be changed at the server side.

hm. I think I'd rather live a dudely life and die young that live a life filled with unchecked aggression. Interesting stuff.


First post by the way, I'm honored to be in the presence of such relaxed and lazy people.

Quote from: nlferts on March 20, 2011, 12:52:32 PM
hm. I think I'd rather live a dudely life and die young that live a life filled with unchecked aggression. Interesting stuff.


First post by the way, I'm honored to be in the presence of such relaxed and lazy people.

Yeah, welcome dude. You are in the right place!
Smoke em if you got em.

That's just their opinion man. These are the same "scientists" that tell you red wine gives you cancer, then the next week report it is good for you. 

Quote from: nlferts on March 20, 2011, 12:52:32 PM
hm. I think I'd rather live a dudely life and die young that live a life filled with unchecked aggression. Interesting stuff.

Totally agree!!

Quote from: nlferts on March 20, 2011, 12:52:32 PM
hm. I think I'd rather live a dudely life and die young that live a life filled with unchecked aggression...

Live life slowly, enjoy your food.

Quote from: LazyDude on March 25, 2011, 10:17:18 AM
That's just their opinion man. These are the same "scientists" that tell you red wine gives you cancer, then the next week report it is good for you.

Like I said above. Here is another article posted on this forum from research claiming the opposite. "Scientists" man.

http://dudeism.com/smf/index.php?topic=2044.0

Gotta start saying that sample of ~1500 kids isn't really even starting to be sufficient to gather good statistics.

No need to go deeper than that though, as "The cheerful, happy-go-lucky kids tended to take more risks" is not what the Dude is about.

Sure, cheerful and happy-go-lucky, but risk taking isn't how the Dude rolls in the bowling lane called life. First and foremost, the Dude is laid back, even lazy - certainly a quality that keeps him out of danger more often than brings him onto it.

Quote from: piir2 on May 03, 2011, 02:33:03 PM
Gotta start saying that sample of ~1500 kids isn't really even starting to be sufficient to gather good statistics.

No need to go deeper than that though, as "The cheerful, happy-go-lucky kids tended to take more risks" is not what the Dude is about.

Sure, cheerful and happy-go-lucky, but risk taking isn't how the Dude rolls in the bowling lane called life. First and foremost, the Dude is laid back, even lazy - certainly a quality that keeps him out of danger more often than brings him onto it.

Like your style dude.

Bummer...I thought stress was a killer. Now it's being happy?

So you're telling me I'm going to die no matter what I do!?

Oh wait...Guess that doesnt' matter a damn bit huh

Just take it easy, man.

Choose to cling to the tree of life like a sloth.

Apathy=/=abiding