Happiness is ageless! Or is it??
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Forty is the new twenty! Sixty is the new thirty! We humans are fixated on age – or at least on youth. Some think youth and happiness go hand in hand. So, when ARE the happiest times of peoples’ lives?
Begoña Álvarez from the University of Vigo in Spain researched this age-old question. Over seventeen thousand people participated, aged fifty and up, from thirteen different countries. They completed surveys to reflect on their ENTIRE life. Researchers then used mathematical modeling to calculate the relationship between age and maximal happiness.
What did they find? Folks from ALL THIRTEEN countries were more likely to reach peak happiness in their THIRTIES! Talk about thirty, flirty, and thriving!
So, does life go downhill once we hit forty? Not exactly. Participants were also more likely to be happier in their fifties than in their twenties! This could be because of more life experience and financial stability.
So ENJOY getting older! And remember, age spots are only bad news if you’re a banana!
Reference: Álvarez, B. (2021). The best years of older Europeans’ lives.” Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02804-6.