- A new study finds that adults who feel their lives are meaningful have better health and life outcomes.
- Adults who felt their lives were worthwhile tended to be more social and had healthier habits.
- The findings could be used to help improve the health of older adults.
The need for meaning seems to be intrinsic to human beings. The question of what meaning life has, if any, and how to live a life in accordance with that goes back to the earliest days of philosophy and defined the work of some of the most famous names in the business. A new study reminds us of the practical nature of the question and the importance of answering it, as it seems people who feel they are living a worthwhile life have better outcomes in just about every other aspect of their lives.
A meaningful life correlates with health and wealth
According to the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, older adults in England who self-reported that their lives were worthwhile were healthier, wealthier, more active, and sleeping better than participants who reported that their lives were not very worthwhile.
Over the course of four years, more than 7000 adults over the age of 50 in the UK were asked to participate in the study. They rated how meaningful they supposed their lives were on a scale of 0-10 and then answered other questions relating to their habits. Health values were measured during an in-home meeting with a nurse who took blood samples.
Of course, the study shows correlation and not causation. However, the results do remain after accounting for other factors like sex, age, and socio-economic status; suggesting that there is something of substance to the findings.
What things were the well-off people doing? I’m asking for a friend.
In short, they were out doing things and not sitting at home.
More specifically, they were spending less time in front of the television or sitting alone and more time out with friends. They were engaged with civic or cultural activities, were doing more volunteer work, exercised more, and ate better.
Of particular interest to the authors was the social engagement of the participants. Co-author Dr. Andrew Steptoe told Psychology Today that:
"I'm struck by the consistency of associations between these feelings [of living a meaningful life] and social and cultural activity. On the other hand, the people who had low ratings tended to spend a lot of time alone. They tend to watch television more and do more passive activities."
Precisely what you do might not be the essential thing, so long as you find it meaningful. This is a popular idea supported by many people including psychologist Viktor Frankl, who famously thought the important thing was finding meaning to your life even to the point of dictating to patients what meaning their lives might have.
Study co-author Dr. Daisy Fancourt agrees with the idea that it might be the belief in meaning that matters and said:
"We do not know what activities the participants in this study thought were worthwhile. For some it might be supporting their families, for others a particular accomplishment in their work or hobby, enjoying nature or perhaps following a favorite sports team. What is important is that the individual finds these activities worthwhile and feels they give a sense of meaning to life."
How can I use this information?
A portion of a graph from the study showing the association of higher well being ratings, here listed in blocks from lowest to highest, with a variety of health outcomes and social engagement levels.
Credit: Steptoe and Fancourt
The study found that people with a strong sense of having a worthwhile life but lower scores in other areas saw marked improvement by the end of the study. This means that somebody who was inactive or uninvolved at the start of the study was more likely to start exercising or become more socially active than a similar test subject who didn't think their life had meaning.
Dr. Steptoe sees this activity as part of a larger cycle that can be harnessed for our improvement or detriment:
"The sorts of things we do are going to be influencing these judgments of the purpose and worthwhileness of what we do in life. But those things in turn are going to be either stimulating or inhibiting future activities. It's a virtuous circle."
The authors also suggest that the findings could be used to help promote the well-being of older adults, an increasingly important issue as the number of older people continues to increase. However, since this study shows only a correlation between welfare and the idea of a worthwhile life, further research is needed before an effective program can be devised.
Is the key to living a healthy, engaging, and worthwhile life the belief that your life is meaningful? While the jury is still out, the results of this study suggest that it can't hurt. So go on, get out a little more. Spend more time with friends, family, and organizations you support. While it may not put all your existential dread to rest, it might help keep you healthy in your old age.
U.S. Navy ships
The U.S. Navy controls patents for some futuristic and outlandish technologies, some of which, dubbed "the UFO patents," came to light recently. Of particular note are inventions by the somewhat mysterious Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais, whose tech claims to be able to "engineer reality." His slate of highly-ambitious, borderline sci-fi designs meant for use by the U.S. government range from gravitational wave generators and compact fusion reactors to next-gen hybrid aerospace-underwater crafts with revolutionary propulsion systems, and beyond.
Of course, the existence of patents does not mean these technologies have actually been created, but there is evidence that some demonstrations of operability have been successfully carried out. As investigated and reported by The War Zone, a possible reason why some of the patents may have been taken on by the Navy is that the Chinese military may also be developing similar advanced gadgets.
Among Dr. Pais's patents are designs, approved in 2018, for an aerospace-underwater craft of incredible speed and maneuverability. This cone-shaped vehicle can potentially fly just as well anywhere it may be, whether air, water or space, without leaving any heat signatures. It can achieve this by creating a quantum vacuum around itself with a very dense polarized energy field. This vacuum would allow it to repel any molecule the craft comes in contact with, no matter the medium. Manipulating "quantum field fluctuations in the local vacuum energy state," would help reduce the craft's inertia. The polarized vacuum would dramatically decrease any elemental resistance and lead to "extreme speeds," claims the paper.
Not only that, if the vacuum-creating technology can be engineered, we'd also be able to "engineer the fabric of our reality at the most fundamental level," states the patent. This would lead to major advancements in aerospace propulsion and generating power. Not to mention other reality-changing outcomes that come to mind.
Among Pais's other patents are inventions that stem from similar thinking, outlining pieces of technology necessary to make his creations come to fruition. His paper presented in 2019, titled "Room Temperature Superconducting System for Use on a Hybrid Aerospace Undersea Craft," proposes a system that can achieve superconductivity at room temperatures. This would become "a highly disruptive technology, capable of a total paradigm change in Science and Technology," conveys Pais.
High frequency gravitational wave generator.
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
Another invention devised by Pais is an electromagnetic field generator that could generate "an impenetrable defensive shield to sea and land as well as space-based military and civilian assets." This shield could protect from threats like anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles that evade radar, coronal mass ejections, military satellites, and even asteroids.
Dr. Pais's ideas center around the phenomenon he dubbed "The Pais Effect". He referred to it in his writings as the "controlled motion of electrically charged matter (from solid to plasma) via accelerated spin and/or accelerated vibration under rapid (yet smooth) acceleration-deceleration-acceleration transients." In less jargon-heavy terms, Pais claims to have figured out how to spin electromagnetic fields in order to contain a fusion reaction – an accomplishment that would lead to a tremendous change in power consumption and an abundance of energy.
According to his bio in a recently published paper on a new Plasma Compression Fusion Device, which could transform energy production, Dr. Pais is a mechanical and aerospace engineer working at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), which is headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland. Holding a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Pais was a NASA Research Fellow and worked with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. His current Department of Defense work involves his "advanced knowledge of theory, analysis, and modern experimental and computational methods in aerodynamics, along with an understanding of air-vehicle and missile design, especially in the domain of hypersonic power plant and vehicle design." He also has expert knowledge of electrooptics, emerging quantum technologies (laser power generation in particular), high-energy electromagnetic field generation, and the "breakthrough field of room temperature superconductivity, as related to advanced field propulsion."
Suffice it to say, with such a list of research credentials that would make Nikola Tesla proud, Dr. Pais seems well-positioned to carry out groundbreaking work.
A craft using an inertial mass reduction device.
Credit: Salvatore Pais
The patents won't necessarily lead to these technologies ever seeing the light of day. The research has its share of detractors and nonbelievers among other scientists, who think the amount of energy required for the fields described by Pais and his ideas on electromagnetic propulsions are well beyond the scope of current tech and are nearly impossible. Yet investigators at The War Zone found comments from Navy officials that indicate the inventions are being looked at seriously enough, and some tests are taking place.
If you'd like to read through Pais's patents yourself, check them out here.
Laser Augmented Turbojet Propulsion System
Credit: Dr. Salvatore Pais
