http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200906/happiness
Employing mature adaptations was one. The others were education, stable
marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight.
Of the 106 Harvard men who had five or six of these factors in their favor at
age 50, half ended up at 80 as what Vaillant called “happy-well” and only 7.5
percent as “sad-sick.” Meanwhile, of the men who had three or fewer of the
health factors at age 50, none ended up “happy-well” at 80. Even if they had
been in adequate physical shape at 50, the men who had three or fewer protective
factors were three times as likely to be dead at 80 as those with four or more
factors.
