It’s a question that some have pondered for generations. At what age are people the most happy? A very large Gallup Poll (340,000 participants) seems to have given us the answer. Drum Roll……People get happier as they get older and that includes when you look at by almost any measure. The results from this poll are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 18, 2010).
“On the global measure, people start out at age 18 feeling pretty good about themselves, and then, apparently, life begins to throw curve balls. They feel worse and worse until they hit 50. At that point, there is a sharp reversal, and people keep getting happier as they age. By the time they are 85, they are even more satisfied with themselves than they were at 18.”
The researchers speculated on the reasons why happiness increases as we age. They looked at four parameters: the sex of the interviewee, whether the person had a partner, whether there were children at home and employment status. “These are four reasonable candidates,” Dr. Stone said, “but they don’t make much difference.”
We can all speculate on the reasons. United Families suspects that strong family relations and marriage do play a huge part in lifetime happiness; other research points to that. But no matter the reason, there is good news. As a New York Times Article states: “For people under 50 who may sometimes feel gloomy, there may be consolation here. The view seems a bit bleak right now, but look at the bright side: you are getting old.”