They say happy wife, happy life but a new study has proven there is another crucial element to long-lasting happiness: a puppy.
A major study run over 72 years has found that a good marriage, close family and owning a pet dog are the key to a happy life.
The Grant Study observed 268 men from their youth in the 1940s to their old age today. It found that a loving family and successful marriage were far more important that wealth or social class when it came to predicting happiness.
Men in good marriages weren’t just more content with their lot in life — they lived longer too.
Only four of the 31 single men in the study are still alive today, compared with more than a third of those in successful relationships.
But there’s some good news for all those men who haven’t found Mrs Right. Study leader George Vaillant, from Harvard Medical School, says a new puppy can bring just as much enjoyment as human relationships.
“If you want to be happy, and don’t have a six-month-old baby to trade smiles with, get yourself a puppy,” Vaillant told British radio station Radio 4.
And if you haven’t found love yet, and can’t get a puppy, Vaillant says there is no need to despair — the study concluded that even finding love after 70 had a profound impact of quality of life.
“Having a loving family is terribly important, but from 70 to 90 years old you’d be surprised at the people who, despite enormous deprivation, manage to find love later on,” he said.
“It gives me an awful lot of hope.”
