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Not-So-Grumpy Old Men

Last update on: Mar 14 2020
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The latest research on happiness concludes that for most people happiness is highest earliest and late in life but declines in the middle. The burdens of being middle-aged weigh on most people. The study relied on people’s self-reporting of their happiness. It also didn’t try to measure people’s happiness relative to each other and find why some people are happier than others. But, with other research, it concludes that people start to be happier after age 50.

Last month, Lewis Wolpert, emeritus professor of biology at University College London, said happiness could peak as late as 80. In a book called You’re Looking Very Well, Prof Wolpert said most people were “averagely happy” in their teens and 20s, but this declined until early middle age as they attempted to support a family and career.

He added: “From the mid-40s, people tend to become ever more cheerful and optimistic, perhaps reaching a maximum in their late 70s or 80s.”

An easing of the responsibilities of middle age, maturity and an increased focus on the things we enjoy contributed to the trend, he said.

According to a study by the American National Academy of Sciences, based on a survey of 341,000 people, enjoyment of life begins an upward trend in the late 40s and does not peak until 85.

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